CHENNAI: Two people were arrested in connection with the seizure of foreign and Indian currency at the international courier terminal at the airport here. Based on specific intelligence that currency was likely to be smuggled out of India through parcels, three packages destined to Singapore were inspected at the terminal, said Air Customs Commissioner Rajan Chaudhary.
He said two parcels that were declared to contain sarees and shawls were taken up for examination first. On opening a carton, the officials found white envelopes concealed inside, each containing $10,000. A total of $50,000 equivalent to Rs 37 lakh was recovered. Similarly, four more envelopes were found concealed inside sarees in the second parcel.
They contained 1,86,500 Saudi Arabian Riyals, 4,000 Euros, 25,000 Swiss Franc and 18,000 Singapore Dollar. Total foreign currency equivalent to Rs 1.06 crore was seized, said Chaudhary. Meanwhile, the third parcel was declared to contain shirts and leggings.
On inspecting the carton, white envelopes were found concealed inside 15 shirts. On opening the envelopes, Rs 2 lakh in denomination of 2,000 were found. A total of Rs 30 lakh Indian currency was recovered and seized. The parcels were booked by two Chennai-based persons and both were arrested.