Kochi:
Customs officials today seized counterfeit Indian currency notes, with a face value of Rs 9.75 lakh, from a passenger who arrived at the airport in Kochi on board a Dubai-Jeddah-Kochi Emirates flight.
Customs sources said 1950 numbers of fake currency notes in denomination of Rs 500, suspected to have been printed in Pakistan, were seized from Chullikulavan Abid of Malappuram, who is suspected to be a carrier of fake currency notes.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Abid procured the currency, found concealed within layers of a quilt carried in one of his checked baggage, in Dubai.
Surveillance operations at all airports in the country have been strengthened to prevent gold smuggling after the recent policy shift that has made imports of gold dearer.
Yesterday, gold jewellery worth Rs 6.50 crore was seized from a passenger who arrived in Kochi from Mumbai and one person was arrested in this connection, police said.