27K cigarette sticks seized at KIA, trio held

Bengaluru: Three people were caught by the at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) customs officials for smuggling 26,800 cigarette sticks and perfumes and soap bars totally valued at Rs 6.14 lakh in their check-in baggage.

A senior customs official said the three flyers, natives of Kasaragod, had reached Bengaluru by the same Fly Dubai flight (FZ 3007) at 3.30 pm and based on profiling and scanning, the officials found the items in the baggage they had given for check-in.

The trio had departed from Calicut to Dubai on January 24 and had returned to Bengaluru the next day by this flight. Each of them had goods valued at a little over Rs 2 lakh. The worth of the cigarette sticks alone, all of the popular Benson & Hedges brand, stood at Rs 2,94,800.

An international flyer is permitted a maximum of 100 cigarette sticks.

A total of 312 packets of Faiza Beauty Cream, 141 bars of Silkha Whitening Herbal Soap and 144 packets of Goree Beauty Cream were also seized from the trio.