Rs 5 crore seized from Bangladesh nationals

KOLKATA: In one of the largest foreign currency seizures this year at the NSCBI airport, the CISF on Tuesday morning seized more than $743,000 lakh (worth Rs 5.03 crore) hidden inside the baggage of a few Bangladeshi nationals, trying to catch a flight to Dhaka. While the central agencies had earlier seized foreign currency from passengers heading for south Asian countries, routing foreign currency illegally to Dhaka has surprised the officials.

A CISF official on Tuesday morning noticed suspicious movement of a passenger near the international security hold area. During checking it was found that a chamber hidden at the base of his baggage contained something.

When the chamber was opened, security officials found $ 55,000 concealed inside the chamber. The carrier-identified as Selim Byapari, a Bangladeshi national, had wrapped the currency notes in black carbon paper to evade any trace during Xray checking of the baggage.

During interrogation of Byapari, the security officials came to know about two more passengers trying to carry foreign exchange illegally.