Mumbai: Man held for bid to smuggle Rs 1.5 cr-worth diamonds out of country by hiding them in tea powder pouches

The Customs department has arrested a man from the Mumbai international airport for allegedly trying to smuggle diamonds worth Rs 1.49 crore out of the country by hiding them in tea powder pouches kept in his luggage, officials said.

The 30-year-old accused, Mukkim Raza Ashraf Mansuri, was arrested on Wednesday by the Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs department when he was about to fly to Dubai, a Customs official said. ”Mansuri, a resident of Null Bazar area in south Mumbai, was arrested at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. He was about to travel to Dubai in a private airliner flight.

During the checking of his hand baggage, a suspicious packet of a major tea brand was found,” he said. When the packet was opened, 34 diamonds kept in eight small pouches of a branded tea powder were found, the official said.

”The diamonds weighed 1,559.68 carats and were worth Rs 1.49 crore,” he said.

During his interrogation, it came to light that Mansuri was promised Rs 5,000 for smuggling the diamonds out of the country, the official said, adding that he has been arrested under the Customs Act.