33 duty evasion cases registered in one night

A record number of cases of duty evasion were lodged by the customs at Mumbai airport on Tuesday night, under a special drive held by the authorities during the festive season.

A record number of cases of duty evasion were lodged by the customs at Mumbai airport on Tuesday night, under a special drive held by the authorities during the festive season.

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Customs officials lodged 33 cases on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sources in the customs said officials seized more than 60 LED television sets, more than 100 liquor bottles, more than 70 perfume bottles, an undisclosed number of garments and iPads.

The value of the confiscated goods is estimated to be worth more than Rs 40 lakh.

Most of the seized items were released after fines were collected from offenders.

However, officials said that in two cases, passengers left behind two LED television sets, each costing around Rs3 lakh. The passengers in these cases had arrived from Bangkok and Hong Kong.

Moreover, authorities also seized 8kg of saffron worth Rs8 lakh from a passenger who had arrived from Dubai. He was arrested.

Confirming this, Saleem said that during festivals, people often travel with expensive goods, which prompted the special vigilance drive.

Deputy commissioner of customs, Sameer Wankhede, registered the cases under Import Trade Control (ITC) Act. Under ITC, passengers attempting to evade duty are fined, said sources.