Saffron worth Rs 4.8 lakh confiscated at Mumbai Airport

Photo: Representational

Local Press Co 5-point Snippet

1. On Monday, customs officers confiscated 8 kg of saffron from an Indian passenger at Mumbai Airport’s Terminal 2.

2. The officers found the behavior of the man, identified as Sanaf Thuruthi Abdulla, suspicious and stopped him at the green channel. After checking his handbag, they recovered saffron worth 4.8 lakh.

3. Abdulla was travelling from Air Arabia flight G9 409 (Sharjah to Mumbai) at around 4.30 am when the officials checked his bag and confiscated the saffron.

4. “After we recovered the undeclared saffron from his possession, the passenger was fined Rs 1.25 lakh. He was also asked to pay another Rs 60,000 as taxes. Smugglers keep innovating ways to sneak in various commodities. The most preferred method is to wrap the consignment in such a manner that the scanner fails to detect it. But once a passenger raises our suspicion, he/she is thoroughly checked even if nothing suspicious is detected during scanning,” a Customs officer told Mid-Day.

5. A top customs officials also told the leading daily that most cases of saffron smuggling are caught on the basis of profiling. If the officer finds the behaviour of a particular passenger suspicious, they simply call them in to check and confirm.