Afghan national trying to smuggle US dollars worth Rs 38 lakh caught at Delhi airport

Two days ago, in one of their biggest seizures, customs officials at the Delhi airport arrested two Indian passengers and recovered from their checked-in baggage US dollars worth Rs 3.55 crore.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Wednesday caught an Afghan national for allegedly trying to smuggle out US dollars worth about Rs 38 lakh at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. CISF officers said that the man was travelling to Kabul, Afghanistan.

The US dollars were found hidden in clothes of an Afghan national who was caught at Delhi’s IGI airport.

According to the officers, around 11.50 am, CISF personnel deployed at Terminal 3 of the airport noticed a passenger’s suspicious activities in the departure area. On suspicion, two CISF men approached the passenger and asked him to cooperate for a detailed search of his baggage.

“On checking, $53,700 worth Rs 38 lakh were found between layers of clothes. The passenger was questioned about the source of the money, but he could not give any satisfactory reply. Customs officials at the airport were then informed and the man, along with the recovered currency, was handed over to them,” said Hemendra Singh, assistant inspector general, CISF.

Singh said initial investigation revealed the man was a ‘carrier’. “The man said he was told that someone would have contacted him once he landed in Kabul. We are probing the source of the money. Investigation is on.”