Mumbai, India
The customs department suspects the involvement of an international hawala racket behind this smuggling, the sources said.
A Tanzanian national was arrested Monday for allegedly smuggling foreign currency worth nearly Rs 2 crore from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Yasir Ali Mohammed, a garment merchant from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, was caught by officials of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
He was scheduled to go to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from Mumbai airport on November 6 and from Addis Ababa to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the next day.
There, he had to deliver foreign currency to a person, sources said.
He was detained by CISF personnel on Monday on suspicion of carrying some banned article in his bag.
Upon searching, 2.40 lakh US dollars (worth nearly Rs 2crore) were found in it, said a source.
The CISF informed the customs department which placed Mohammad under arrest the under the Customs Act.
Further investigations have revealed that the accused was going to Ethiopia from Mumbai and then via another flight from Ethiopia to Tanzania. He was promised a hefty commission for the same, said sources.
The customs department suspects the involvement of an international hawala racket behind this smuggling, the sources said.
However, lawyer of the accused Prabhakar Tripathi claimed that his client is not a culprit as he was not aware of the laws in India.
“He is a businessman and came to India on a business visa, and as he was not aware of customs law, he could not declare the foreign currency in India. As his business deal could not materialise in India, he was returning to his country,” Tripathi said.
Source: The Indian EXPRESS
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