Rs 69 lakh seized from Mumbai airport; four arrested

Mumbai Customs sleuths seized cash totalling around Rs 69 lakh in two separate cases here, which included recovery of Rs 25 lakh in 2,000 rupee notes. The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs made these seizures at the international airport here in the wee hours and four persons were arrested in this connection.

In the first case, foreign currency worth over Rs 43 lakh was recovered from three passengers Shaikh Waheed Ali, Mohammed Sohail and Shaikh Pasha who arrived here from Hyderabad.

“A detailed examination of the baggage of Ali resulted in recovery of 1,39,000 Saudi Riyals, 5,65,000 UAE Dirhams and 14,000 Australian dollars,” said a Customs official, adding that the total value was Rs 43.97 lakhs.

This money was found wrapped in newspapers and was concealed in their check-in baggage.