With the arrest of five people at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has unearthed a foreign currency smuggling racket and seized forex worth nearly Rs 4.5 crore.
It is a case of black money where the smugglers were allegedly taking out money abroad illegally and making it white by declaring it at the airport on return to India, the officials said.
The accused were allegedly involved in hawala trade and they were converting these foreign currencies, mainly Euros, into US dollars, abroad, and declaring them while entering into India, officials said on Sunday.
The declaration at the IGI Airport would help them bring the foreign currency legally into the country, they said. The officials of DRI seized £5.93 lakh and $2,350 — total worth Rs 4.47 crore — from them.
As per norms, a declaration is to be made at the international airport if a passenger is bringing in foreign currency notes exceeding $5,000 or equivalent.
“The syndicate adopted a unique modus operandi by handing over bag containing foreign currencies to passengers travelling by international flights on the domestic route and collecting the same after the security and immigration check,” a Press releases issued by the DRI said.
Three passengers were arrested from IGI Airport and two others at Mumbai Airport on Saturday, it said. “The DRI has been very seriously pursuing the hawala and black money syndicates,” the release said.