6 men, customs officer held with smuggled goods worth Rs 1 crore at Delhi’s IGI airport

The men, who had flown to Delhi from Dubai, initially fled the terminal building but were later arrested from outside the airport. A customs officer who had allegedly helped the men sneak in goods was also arrested.

Two of six Indians, who were caught allegedly smuggling goods worth Rs1 crore, including drones, electronics, cigarette cartons and liquor, reportedly fled the Terminal 3 of Delhi’s IGI airport on Friday morning.

Six men and a customs official were arrested for smuggling goods at Delhi’s IGI airport. (HT File)

The men, who had flown to Delhi from Dubai, were later arrested from outside the airport. A customs officer who had allegedly helped the men sneak in goods was also arrested.

However, the Customs and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), that mans the airport security, had a different version of the incident.

The CISF said customs had detained six men around 7.20am at Terminal 3. “On being caught, the passengers argued with customs officials over paying duty. During the argument, three of them escaped the terminal. Following a scuffle, one of the passengers called the police. In turn, the customs also dialled 100 for assistance,” a CISF officer said.

The Delhi Police arrived at Terminal 3 but left the building after inquiries, he said.

Additional commissioner of customs, Delhi airport, Amandeep Singh said the two men were intercepted by the customs and officers from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence after they had exited the terminal building.

“The other four passengers were intercepted inside the terminal. Their body frisk and baggage search resulted in the recovery of 1,639 cigarettes, 14 drones DJI Mavic with kit, 18 Canon cameras, an Apple Macbook Pro, one Sony PlayStation and 16 bottles of Chivas Regal. The total value of these items is around Rs 1.09 crore,” Singh said.

“During the preliminary inquiry, the involvement of a customs officer also surfaced and he was also arrested,” Singh said.

The customs did not reveal the names of the arrested men .

Deputy commissioner of police (IGIA) Sanjay Bhatia also confirmed that the police were informed about the incident.

“The complainant alleged that custom officials had beaten him and took his money. During inquiry, it was revealed that the caller lives in Paharganj, Delhi. Our team found that he was in possession of undeclared cigarettes. The custom officials seized his articles and took action accordingly. There was no injury to anybody,” the DCP said.