Published Oct 24, 2026 | 11:14 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 24, 2026 | 11:14 AM
Foreign currency seized at Hyderabad airport.
Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have arrested two travellers at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) after recovering foreign currency worth approximately Rs 1.56 crore from their cabin baggage. Both were bound for Kuala Lumpur.
In a statement released on Saturday, the agency said its Hyderabad Zonal Unit (HZU), acting on specific intelligence, intercepted an Indian male passenger scheduled to fly to the Malaysian capital on AirAsia flight AK-68 on October 22.
A search of his trolley bag revealed a black plastic cover tucked between his clothes. It contained USD 66,600, Malaysian ringgit (MYR) 3,773 and two Singapore dollars (SGD), together valued at approximately Rs 63.62 lakh.
During questioning, the man reportedly told officers that a woman carrying foreign currency was also travelling on the same flight, although her ticket had been booked separately under a different Passenger Name Record (PNR). The officers identified and intercepted her.
A search of her cabin bag also revealed a black plastic cover concealed among her clothes. It contained USD 97,600, valued at approximately Rs 91.94 lakh.
The total seizure amounted to approximately Rs 1.56 crore.
Neither passenger could produce documents establishing the lawful source of the foreign currency or their authorisation to carry it abroad, the DRI said.
The agency seized the entire amount, along with the two trolley bags used to conceal the currency, under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. Both passengers were arrested.
The DRI did not name the two passengers in its statement.
Investigators are probing the source of the foreign currency and the circumstances in which it was being taken to Malaysia. Further investigation is in progress.
(With inputs from Sreshta Ladegam. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
