Luxury watches, foreign currency worth Rs 5.42 cr seized from US passport-holder

Authorities seized undeclared foreign currency and several luxury items worth Rs 5.42 crore from a female passenger holding a US passport at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, officials said on Tuesday. Customs officers intercepted the passenger upon arrival at Terminal-3 from Hong Kong, a statement said. The woman's baggage was put under X-ray, followed by a detailed physical examination, which led to the recovery of undeclared items, it said. The seizure included gold and diamond items weighing 1.2 kg, silver utensils weighing 10 kg, luxury watches of brands such as Rolex, Bvlgari, Chopard, and Cartier, and foreign currency comprising USD 9,084, Euro 605 and Hong Kong Dollars 2,540, the statement said. ''The total value of the seized items has been determined as Rs 5.42 crore. Being undeclared and in violation of the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, the goods were seized under Section 110 of the Act,'' it said. Domestically procured gold items weighing 552 grams, also found on her, were not seized. The passenger was arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962, it added.