Devanahalli (Bengaluru): The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested four Dubai-bound passengers at Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports for smuggling diamonds and foreign currency worth Rs 13 crore.
Two men, who were trying to smuggle natural and homegrown diamonds weighing 8,053 carats worth Rs 7.77 crore and foreign currency amounting to Rs 4.62 lakh from Bengaluru to Dubai were arrested at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). In a separate case, two other passengers heading for Dubai, were held with at Hyderabad airport, with 5,569 carat diamonds worth Rs 6.03 crore and Rs 9.83 lakh foreign currency.
DRI sleuths said that the diamonds were found concealed in chocolate packets. The passengers have been detained and presently being interrogated, they said.
Two days back, customs officials of Mangalore International Airport intercepted two passengers who were trying to smuggle gold worth Rs 50 lakh by hiding it in rectum. The two passengers had arrived Mangalore from Abu Dhabi and Dubai by Air India Express flights IX816 and IX814 respectively. During security check, it was revealed that the gold was being smuggled in the form of paste kept in a small packet that was hidden in their rectum.
A total of 815 grams of gold weighing 24 carats was recovered from them. Passengers were detained and interrogations are underway, officials said.
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