$400,000 found between pages of students’ notebooks at Pune airport

Pune customs intercepted over $400,000 (Rs 3.47 crore approx) being smuggled from India to Dubai concealed between pages of notebooks of three students — all aged in their early twenties — travelling to Dubai. Customs sleuths were probing a suspected hawala racket after the arrest of a Pune-based travel agent who had booked a Dubai trip for the three students and a Mumbai based Forex trader.

Pune Customs had received specific intelligence that a large quantity of foreign currency was being smuggled by being meticulously concealed between pages of notebooks of three women students who had travelled to Dubai. Following a request from Indian authorities, the three student passengers were sent back to India by officials in Dubai upon their arrival. The three passengers travelling from Dubai to Pune were intercepted at Pune Airport on February 17. The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers conducted a thorough search of the passengers and recovered $400,100 (approximately Rs 3.47 crore). The 100 dollar bills were concealed between pages of multiple notebooks that were in the three students’ bags.

The three female passengers, all pursuing their post graduate studies, were questioned by AIU officers. It was revealed they had booked their trip through a Pune based travel agent identified as Khushboo Agarwal. The students revealed it was Agarwal who had given them the bags with cash.

Sushant Kulkarni

Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More