A man in Kolkata about to board a flight to Bangkok, carrying a duffle bag full of Gutkha pouches, was intercepted after customs officials found 40,000 US dollars in single and double notes concealed inside the pouches.
The incident happened at Kolkata airport on Sunday night recently when Ganga Sagar, an Indian national, reached Kolkata to board a SpiceJet flight that was scheduled to fly out at 11.55pm. The passenger had passed the immigration check and was approaching the pre- embarkation security check when Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers of the Kolkata Customs Department intercepted the passenger. The officers had a tip off about a man illegally carrying foreign currency out of India and the stacks of Gutkha sachets in the checked in baggage raised their suspicion.
A video of a customs official tearing the sachets showed neatly folded $100 bills sealed inside plastic sachets, along with what seemed to be pan masala powder. The video showed the duffle bag stuffed with such sachets that apparently took customs officials several hours to finally get all the 100 dollar bills out of the bag.