Smuggled Foreign-Made Watches Worth Rs 30 Crore Seized In Kolkata, 1 Arrested

The Mumbai zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has seized smuggled high-end watches worth more than Rs 30 crore from the residence of a Kolkata-based man, officials said on Saturday.

Acting of a tip-off, the man was intercepted at the Kolkata airport last week after he arrived from Singapore, and a very expensive Greubel Forsey watch which he had not declared before the customs authorities was seized, A DRI release said here.

While the man was arrested under the Customs Act, his house in an upscale residential complex in Kolkata was searched by officers of the DRI, Mumbai Zonal Unit, it said.

As many as 34 watches of premium foreign brands including Greubel Forsey, Purnell, Louis Vuitton, MB and F, Mad, Rolex, Audemars Piguet and Richard Mille were recovered from the house, the release added.

Most of these were limited edition watches with a total market value of more than Rs 30 crore, it said.

Import of watches by individuals through the baggage attracts 38.5 percent of customs duties.

Further probe was on, the release said.

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