A 36-year-old man was arrested and currency worth Rs 22.6 lakh was seized from him at the Kempegowda International Airport on Sunday.
The arrested has identified as Manojkumar Brijlal Khemani, a resident of Ulhasnagar in Mumbai, who was flying to Dubai by Emirates Flight No EK-567. He was picked up by the Air Intelligence Customs after passenger profiling from the departure. The suspect’s body language raised suspicion, a customs officer said.
Khemani had a total of $21,000 concealed in his check-in baggage, 12,000 Euros rolled up and concealed in his rectum and 500 UAE Dirhams concealed in his wallet. The value of these foreign currencies is Rs 22,61,275, the official added. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulations, a passenger going abroad can carry Rs 25,000 in Indian currency and foreign currency equivalent to only $10,000, that too with receipts from recognised forex firms, the officer added.
Currency smuggling is hard to detect since the door frame metal detector or the hand-held metal detector can’t detect them. Only with intelligence inputs, passenger profiling and studying the body language can customs officials detect smuggling, a senior customs officer said.
Enquiries reveal that Khemani was a mule who smuggles currency for a commission, said the official.
