Sudanese national held with 75 kg sandalwood at Mumbai Airport
Bakri Abbas Hussain Ahmed was arrested after he failed to produce any valid documents or any satisfactory response about carrying such a large quantity of sandalwood
A Sudanese national, carrying 75 kg of sandalwood worth Rs 4.90 lakh in the international market, was arrested at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai on Sunday.
On August 11, acting on a tip-off, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel stopped Bakri Abbas Hussain Ahmed, a Sudanese national, at departure gate 3 of Terminal 2 for checking of his luggage on grounds of suspicion.
Ahmed was scheduled to fly to Addis Ababa by Ethiopian Airways.
During the screening of his bag through X-BIS machine, some suspicious items were noticed. On physical inspection, 75 kg sandalwood wrapped in a plastic sheet was found inside it.
When questioned about the material, the passenger failed to produce any valid documents or any satisfactory reply about carrying of sandalwood in such a large quantity, following which he was apprehended.
CISF immediately alerted concerned officials, including ones from the Customs and Maharashtra Forest Department. The passenger, along with the seized sandalwood, was later handed over to the forest department for further investigation.
