Mumbai: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) recovered foreign currency worth over Rs 71 lakh from an Indian national on Thursday night. The passenger, Ativ Mehta, was on his way to Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific flight from Terminal 2 of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), when he was frisked.
According to sources, during the pre-embarkation check on Thursday, around 8.30pm, a CISF jawan noticed Mehta walking around the airport in a suspicious manner and stopped him. Mehta was frisked him and asked to open his bags but he was reluctant to do so.
On physical checking, US $99,550, equivalent to Rs 71 lakh, were found in his bag. The CISF jawan immediately alerted his superiors and officers from the customs department were summoned. During interrogation, when the officials asked Mehta the reason for travelling with such a large amount of cash, he failed to give satisfactory answers and was taken into custody for further investigation.
Last week, in a similar operation, the CISF had intercepted an Australian national, Mohammed Farouk, who was held with Rs 9.16 lakh in his bag. When he was asked to stand aside and frisked, currency notes in US $10,000, 1.13 lakh Thai Baht, 857 Chinese Yuan and Rs 50,000 were found.
