BENGALURU: A probe which began after foreign notes worth Rs 1 crore hidden in a mixie were detected at Kempegowda International Airport on October 1 led to a mega seizure of foreign currency worth Rs 3.7 crore at Mumbai airport. The notes were concealed in four suitcases with false bottoms.
The Mumbai incident is among four large currency smuggling attempts foiled by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) with specific intelligence from Bengaluru informers.
On October 1, two Tamil Nadu men who were to take a flight to Dubai were nabbed at KIA after they attempted to smuggle a white mixie. Most of its internal parts were removed and it was packed with US dollars, UAE dirham and Saudi riyal. Investigators suspected the duo carrying the foreign currency worth Rs 1 crore had links to a few terror outfits operating from the Gulf and the money could be for them.
The DRI Bengaluru unit began a probe and christened it Operation Cheque Shirts to track hawala deals and foreign currency smuggling through various key airports in the country mainly to the Gulf, sources said.
Following the KIA bust, DRI sleuths made two more foreign currency seizures in different parts of the country within 50 days. The Bengaluru investigators received specific information about a fourth case, wherein a Delhi-based gang would attempt to smuggle currency via Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport early on Friday.
According to sources, the DRI Mumbai sleuths were tipped off by their Bengaluru counterparts and soon intercepted two Sharjah-bound passengers carrying four suitcases.
Examination of the suitcases revealed all four had false bottoms that were tightly fixed using nuts and bolts. The luggage was dismantled and sleuths found many 100 dollar bills (US) and a few notes of Saudi riyal. It was ascertained that the duo, residents of Delhi, was attempting to smuggle foreign currency worth Rs 3.7 crore to the UAE.
The two men were not carrying any legal documents pertaining to the cash and were booked under section 110 of the Customs Act 1962. Further probe is under way to find out about their connections to Bengaluru gangs, sources added.
