Bizarre way of currency smuggling: CISF seizes Rs 45 lakh from a passenger at Delhi airport

The CISF has seized Rs 45 lakh worth of foreign currency hidden from a passenger at Delhi airport in cooked meat pieces, peanuts and sealed biscuit packets, officials said Wednesday.

Five hundred and eight Crisp currency notes from the eatables have been retrieved. The unusual currency smuggling modus operandi came to light on Tuesday evening when security personnel intercepted Murad Ali, 25, on the basis of his "suspicious" conduct when he arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal-3 to board a flight to Dubai from Air India.

"On physical checking of the passenger's baggage, a high volume of foreign currency was found concealed in cooked mutton pieces, peanuts, biscuit packets and other eatables," CISF spokesperson Assistant Inspector General Hemendra Singh said.

This is a special and unusual way to hide the smuggling of foreign currency, "Singh said. A video of the interception released by the force showed the security personnel cracking peanuts, unwrapping sealed biscuit packets and digging into oily meat pieces to retrieve an assortment of Saudi Riyal, Qatari Riyal, Kuwaiti Dinar, Omani Riyal and Euro rolled and neatly wrapped inside.

The estimated worth of this seized cache is Rs 45 lakh and the passenger, who had a tourist visa for Dubai, and the currency have been handed over to Customs authorities, the CISF spokesperson said.

Ali, a Saharanpur district resident in Uttar Pradesh, told CISF officials he was working as a casual labourer and carrying food items in his bag at someone's directions.

The man is suspected of being a courier for currency smuggling as he had previously made multiple visits to Dubai and other international locations, they said.

In case of the peanuts, it was found that the shells were perfectly brought together with the help of some adhesive after they were emptied of their ingredients and currency notes were stuffed in neatly.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is the national civil aviation security force which provides anti-terror protection to the Delhi airport.