Three of family with foreign notes worth ₹4.1 crore arrested at airport

Customs officials on Wednesday seized $4,97,000, which is approximately ₹4

Customs officials on Wednesday seized $4,97,000, which is approximately ₹4.1 crore, from three members of a family at the city airport. The trio has been arrested for allegedly smuggling the currency notes into Dubai.

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The accused have been identified as Afaan Akbar Khan, 21, Yunus Abdul Shaikh, 62, and Razia Yunus Khan, 52. Afaan is a resident of Aurangabad while Yunus and Razia hail from Giltekadi, Pune.

According to the customs department, the family was leaving for Dubai via Fly Dubai flight FZ 446. After they cleared immigration, officials on suspicion carried out an examination of the baggage which led to a seizure of $4,97,000. The currency notes were wrapped in clothes and hidden inside shoes which were in the check-in baggage.

They allegedly told the customs officials that the notes were handed over to them by someone in Mumbai for smuggling purposes. The trio had been allegedly instructed to hand over the notes to a person in Dubai and they had been offered some commission, customs sources said.

The sources also said such note smuggling rackets were in play when the passenger load is high. Hence, they had intensified the vigil, especially on Middle East routes.

The three were arrested under sections of the Customs Act. On Thursday, they were produced before a court which sent them to judicial custody.