Woman held for smuggling jewellery worth ₹1.36 crore

A 53-year-old woman, residing in Hong Kong, has been arrested by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of customs department at the Mumbai airport for allegedly smuggling

A 53-year-old woman, residing in Hong Kong, has been arrested by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of customs department at the Mumbai airport for allegedly smuggling gold and diamond-studded jewellery worth ₹1.36 crore. The woman carried the undeclared jewellery in her pant’s pocket.

HT Image

The accused Meena Dhandia, on Monday night, had arrived at the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. After she cleared the customs green channel, she was intercepted on suspicion. On searching, the officials recovered one gold diamond ring, four diamond-studded gold bangles, all valued at ₹1.36crore. She had hidden them in her pant’s pocket, customs officials said.

Customs officials suspect that she could be part of a smuggling racket. Dhandia was arrested and charged under relevant sections of Customs Act.

Dhandia’s lawyer Ravi Hirani said that jewellery brought by the woman is her own and she was here to attend a marriage ceremony.