In a high-voltage drama that ensued at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Air-port on Friday night, the customs officials arrested four, Chennai-based smugglers who abandoned their luggage at the conveyor belt sensing that they were being watched.
The four smugglers have been identified as Mohammed Khalifa Tulla, Mohammed Imran, Afzal Khan and Sadiq Baccha.
Officials said that the quartet had bought goods from Singapore and to hoodwink the customs who keep flights from Singapore under watch, re-routed to Sri Lanka and then took a flight from there.
“They had alighted from a Sri Lankan Air flight at the Mumbai airport and were waiting for their luggage at the conveyor belt. They sensed that we were watching them and so they did not collect their luggage and started running,” said a senior customs official.
A team headed by customs superintendent Sameer Wankhede finally apprehended them. The officials seized 100 smartphones and 13 professional cameras from one passenger while from the other three, they seized 760 cartons of imported cigarettes. The total value of the seized goods is estimated to be over Rs. 30 lakh.