Bipasha detained at Intl airport, let off after paying duty

The 'Dhoom 2' actress was intercepted after she had crossed the green channel without making any declaration on her arrival from London.

"Actress Bipasha Basu was caught carrying come undeclared items the value of which was not high. She was let off after she paid the duty," Additional Commissioner of Customs Mahender Pal told PTI.

P M Govande, Commissioner of Customs, Airport, however, denied that she was detained.

"She was carrying undeclared goods worth over Rs 65,000 and so we asked her to pay the duty of Rs 13,000 which she did," he said, adding "no fine or penalty" was imposed.
Customs sources said she was carrying sandals, sunglasses and perfume, which she did not know also needed to be declared. "She was very cooperative and showed all the bills," they said.

In a brief statement the 'No Entry' actress said, "It was just a routine check up at the airport and many others were being checked as well. I paid Rs 12,000 as taxes against some personal goods. I think the customs team is doing an excellent job." Another Bollywood actress Minissha Lamba had been detained at the airport on May 18 on her arrival from Cannes, France, for not declaring gold and diamond jewellery worth over Rs 30 lakh.

She was let off after two rounds of questioning, one of which lasted for over 16 hours. Lamba had claimed that the ornaments were given by a jewellery brand for purely promotional purpose to be worn at the Cannes film festival, where she had walked the red carpet.

Lamba had said that she was not aware of the procedure of declaring high-value jewellery being taken out of the country and brought back.