Shahtoosh shawls worth Rs 1 crore seized

The Custom Department at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has arrested a passenger and recovered Shahtoosh and Pashmina shawls worth Rs 1 crore and Rs 60 lakh respectively from him.

The Custom Department at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has arrested a passenger and recovered Shahtoosh and Pashmina shawls worth Rs 1 crore and Rs 60 lakh respectively from him.

HT Image

This is one of major seizures made by the department in 10 years. The passenger, identified as Mudasir Gulam Ahmed Mugloo, is a resident of Srinagar.

“He arrived from Washington DC via London by flight VS-300. He was going through the green channel, in which passengers are subjected to only spot checks, but was stopped on suspicion,” said Ashutosh Barnwal, additional commissioner of customs, IGIA.

After searching his baggage, the police recovered 25 shahtoosh shawls and 89 pashmina shawls apart from a
few electronic items.

“He was also carrying undeclared currency. During interrogation, he admitted that he had taken the goods to the US to sell them. He had been unable to sell the goods that the department seized from him,” Barnwal added.The sale of Shahtoosh shawls is banned in India. Three to five Chiru Antelopes, an endangered species, are killed to make one such shawl.