Two travelers held at Pune airport; couple tried to smuggle Rs. 1.2 cr in 'Upma'

Security officials at Pune airport apprehended two passengers, including a woman, who were to fly to Dubai, for allegedly trying to smuggle out foreign currency worth Rs 1.29 crore by concealing them in hot boxes containing 'upma'.

A senior official involved in airport security said two separate incidents occurred on Sunday at the airport there when an immigration officer found the documents of a man, identified as Nishant Y, suspicious.

He said the immigration officer alerted the Customsauthorities at the airport who ordered a repeat check of theman's check-in luggage. He was booked on a flight to Dubai.

"The bag contained a hot case with 'upma' inside. But,the weight of the eatable was more than usual and hence it waschecked, only to reveal a black polythene having USD 86,600 and Euro 15,000 inside," the official said.

The immigration authorities, after some time, similarly alerted Customs officials about another doubtful passenger, identified as H Ranglani, travelling to Dubai on the same flight on which the man was booked. Her baggage was checked by CISF security personnel which led them to a hot case kept in her bag.

"This hot case, containing upma, was opened and foreigncurrency of USD 86,200 and Euro 15,000 was found concealed in it," he said. The Customs officials are probing if the two cases are related, the official said.

With PTI inputs