Turkish national held at airport with Rs 27.74 lakh foreign currency

Customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday seized Rs 27.74 lakh in foreign currency from a Turkey national bound for Istanbul.

The currency — 23,750 euros and 3,500 US dollars — was seized during a routine interception at Terminal 3.

According to officials, the passenger was set to board the plane when he was intercepted based on a random referral. A detailed personal and baggage examination led to the recovery of the concealed foreign currency.

The officials said the currency notes “were discreetly placed and concealed in the pages of the books kept in the check-in baggage, thereby trying to evade detection”.

The passenger admitted that the money was intended to be smuggled out of the country. A few days ago, customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport had seized more than 17 kilograms of marijuana in two separate operations, leading to the arrest of two Indian passengers arriving from Bangkok.

The total estimated value of the narcotics seized in both cases is approximately Rs 17.20 crore. The customs authorities are investigating to determine possible links to organised trafficking networks and repeated smuggling attempts via same foreign route.