Officials of the Air Intelligence Unit on Friday arrested a 44-year-old woman for allegedly trying to smuggle foreign currency worth more than ₹48 lakh to Dubai. Officials said they received a tip-off and detained the suspect as she was about to board a flight at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. Memon was released on bail on Saturday afternoon.
The AIU officials said the accused has been identified as Reshmabano Memon (44), a resident of Mumbra. She had booked a Jet Airways flight to Dubai departing at 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
An AIU oficer said, “By the time we reached the airport, Memon was already in the boarding area. We contacted some officers and detained her before she could board the flight. Her hand baggage was seized.”
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The bag contained cash worth $76,000, which is equivalent to ₹48,26,000. Memon allegedly stuffed the money into the pockets of trousers and packed them in the bag. Following her arrest, she allegedly confessed to being a carrier of smuggled foreign currency. Her statement was recorded under Section 108 of the Customs Act, which holds evidentiary value in court.
“Inquiries indicate that she was carrying the currency at the behest of a man based in Mumbra known as Ali Bhai. She has said in her statement that her husband is unemployed and she has three children to raise, which is why she agreed to ferry the money. The people behind the racket used to keep her passport with them and only give it to her when they sent her on a trip to Dubai,” said the officer.
On Friday morning, she was taken to meet Ali at a hotel in Mumbra. Another man, identified as Majeed Bhai, took her to the airport and gave her the baggage with the notes concealed in it, along with her passport, ticket and visa. The AIU is now working on identifying and apprehending both men.
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“An examination of Memon’s passport shows that she has made several trips to Dubai from Mumbai since 2015. However, on her return trips, she got off at different airports like Delhi and Hyderabad. There are rackets at work where carriers take currency to Dubai and bring back gold, and we are checking if she is involved in them,” the officer said.