Man held with dollars in 'papad' at IGI

A Bangkok-bound Indian man was apprehended by the CISF at the Delhi airport Tuesday for carrying US dollars worth over Rs 15 lakh by allegedly concealing them inside layers of crunchy 'papad' packets, a senior officer said.

The passenger was intercepted around 5 am during security checks at terminal-III of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.

A total of USD 19,900 (worth about Rs 15.5 lakh at current value) was found concealed inside boxes marked as spices and between layers of 'papad' packets being carried by the passenger in his luggage, the officer said.

The man was offloaded from his Air Vistara flight and handed over to the Customs authorities by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel.

He could not furnish a valid authorization for carrying such a big amount of foreign currency, the officer said.