Indian cricketer Krunal Pandya and his wife were detained at Mumbai airport by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Thursday evening after he was found with expensive watches worth around Rs 75 lakh on arrival from the UAE. The watches were not declared, an official said, reports Ahmed Ali.
Sources said that Pandya was carrying four watches — two Rolex and two Audemar Piguet. Pandya was part of the Mumbai Indians team that won the IPL finals in Dubai. Two of the watches were meant for him while two were for his brother Hardik, sources said.
Four hours after their detention, at around 10.30pm, the case was handed over to the customs department, though officials declined to comment on the reason for the same. A senior official from customs said they would be released soon.
An official said the valuers were called who assessed the value of the watches.
“It was also ascertained that the watches were not duplicates,” a source said.
Officials declined to confirm if the two were stopped after passing through the green channel. Officials said the goods have been detained and they will be allowed to go.
The watches will be released only after a showcause notice is issued followed by an adjudication where the fine and penalty will be decided, which will be around 60% of the value of the watches, sources said.