Central Crime Branch (CCB) office in Bengaluru.
Credit: DH Photo/S K Dinesh
Bengaluru: The Central Crime Branch recently busted a foreign goods smuggling racket and arrested three people.
The CCB confiscated 11 bottles of foreign-made liquor, 17 iPhones and eight gold chains by arresting three suspects — R Varadaraj, 52, from Ullal; Srinivas, 61, from Srinivas Nagar; and 44-year-old B Nagesh, a resident of Basavanagudi.
Sources in the CCB said that the group smuggled goods through the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) without paying customs duty.
According to the CCB, the three men visited Thailand and stashed the goods in clothes' bags. They managed to hoodwink the customs officials and come out of the airport. They were found loitering near Terminal 2 of the airport, discussing ways to sell the goods.
A tip-off helped CCB sleuths detain the suspects. Their further interrogation helped the CCB unearth the smuggling racket, the sources added.
According to the CCB, the group purchased iPhones and gold jewellery at lower rates in Thailand and sold them to select customers in Bengaluru. The racket had been going on for several years now, the CCB said, adding that it was digging into the group's overseas travel details.