The Mumbai Customs intercepted a passenger carrying twenty units of Apple iPhone Pro Max and gold dust worth Rs 83 lakh at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).
The iPhone Pro Max is Apple's recent launched product and is also the company's expensive iPhone available in India. Sources said this trend has been developing over the past few years, each time a new gadget is launched. The demand for flagship smart-phones of various companies has been very high in India in the grey market which fuels smuggling activities. The individual has been charged for violation of provisions of the Customs Act 1962.
The Mumbai Customs intercepted the passenger on Thursday after his arrival from Dubai. A thorough check led to the recovery of twenty premier phones and 1,599 grams of gold dust. The authorities keep a close watch on certain international routes from where they suspect the premier phones will be brought to the country.
Smugglers try to take advantage of the high passenger density at Mumbai airport which is one of the world’s busiest airports when it comes to single-runway facilities.
Sources stated that some passengers deliberately avoid paying Customs Duty while bringing goods from abroad as payment of the duty will offset the cost advantage as gold and electronic items are cheaper in some other countries. The agency has been taking actions for possession, carriage, concealment, recovery and smuggling gold into India without payment of proper Customs Duty and in contravention of the provisions of The Customs Act. The authorities screen suspicious passengers after they clear the green channel at the airport.
In the past, the Customs have been cracking down on larger nexus involved in transporting smuggled gold, electronic items, foreign origin cigarettes among other products. Last month, a passenger was stopped and checked on suspicion which led to recovery of gold dust weighing 457 grams and items such as apple watches, MacBook and assorted perfumes. The collective value of the seized items was Rs 33 lakh.
