Couple caught with undeclared foreign currency worth Rs1 crore at Mumbai airport

The couple were caught with USD worth Rs 20.34 lakh and UK Pounds worth Rs 80.76 lakh. AIU suspects that the couple was part of a professional smuggling racket.

The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) on Tuesday intercepted an Indian couple, who were flying to Bangkok, with undeclared foreign currency worth Rs 1 crore at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

An Indian couple flying to Bangkok were caught with Rs 1 cr worth of undeclared foreign currency. (REUTERS Photo)

Nagpada residents Rayyan Thakur, 29, and his wife Afren Thakur, 28, were caught with US Dollars worth Rs 20.34 lakh and UK Pounds worth Rs 80.76 lakh. AIU suspects that the couple was part of a professional smuggling racket.

The couple, currently in judicial custody, has been charged under relevant sections of the Customs Act; Passport Act; Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999; and Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import Currency) regulation 2000.

“The foreign currencies had been concealed with thick plastic covers over the trolley bags’ base. During interrogation, they told officers that they had collected the bag from one Adnan Shaikh in Bhendi Bazaar. Shaikh allegedly told them that the bag would be collected by a man in Bangkok. They were to be given Rs 12,000 for this exchange,” said an AIU official.

Meanwhile, the couple’s lawyer has claimed that they had no idea about the contents of the bag. “They were told to carry bags containing food items and clothes. They had no knowledge about concealed foreign currency. They are falsely implicated in this case,” said advocate Ravi Hirani. AIU officials are now trying to track down the others involved in the racket.