Foreign currency worth Rs 1.5 cr seized at RGIA; two arrested | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths of the Hyderabad zonal unit seized foreign currency worth about Rs 1.56 crore and arrested two passengers at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) on Oct 22.Acting on specific intelligence, DRI sleuths intercepted an Indian male passenger who was about to board a Kuala Lumpur-bound AirAsia flight AK-68. “A search of his cabin baggage led to the recovery of $66,600, 3,773 Malaysian ringgit and two Singapore dollars, together worth about Rs 63.6 lakh. The foreign currency was concealed in a black plastic cover among clothes in his trolley bag,” DRI said in an official statement.During preliminary questioning, the accused confessed that a woman accomplice was also travelling on the same flight on a different PNR. “Surveillance was mounted, and the woman was identified and intercepted at the airport. A search of her cabin baggage led to the recovery of $97,600, worth about Rs 91.9 lakh, concealed in a black plastic cover among her clothes,” the DRI said.According to the agency, neither passenger could produce documents to show that the foreign currency had been lawfully obtained and could be legally carried out of the country. The foreign currency and the trolley bags were seized under the Customs Act, 1962. Both passengers were arrested, and an investigation is underway to identify the source of the foreign currency and other members of the racket.