Mangaluru: Acting swiftly on a tip off, the officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mangaluru apprehended Sirajuddin Pallikke Kunhali (39), a resident of Kasargod District, Kerala.
On Febraury 15, Sirajuddin was going through the check-in and immigration formalities before boarding the Air India Express flight IX 813 bound for Dubai. During his personal search, it was found that some foreign currency notes were concealed inside his socks. Subsequently, upon thorough examination of Sirajuddin’s baggage, the officers found that foreign currency notes were concealed even inside the hollow tubular parts of the handles in rolled bundles and some more currency notes were spread under the false bottom of the bag.
The assortment of foreign currencies comprising of US Dollars, Swiss Francs, Euros and Kuwaiti Dinars added together came up to a total of 25,82,686 in terms of their value in INR. The foreign currencies were confiscated from Sirajuddin under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 read with FEMA Rules and RBI guidelines issued in this regard.
Upon interrogation, Sirajuddin admitted to the offence and stated that he indulged in this unscrupulous act for making some easy money. He has been arrested and produced before the Principal Civil Judge (Senior Division) and Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mangaluru. The Directorate is hopeful of making a breakthrough regarding unauthorised currency dealers and hawala operators in the course of their investigation.
