DRI Finds iPhone 13 Smuggling at Mumbai Airport

· 3,646 iPhone-13 Mobile Phones found in two Consignments Loaded in Hong Kong

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence has caught a stockpile of iPhones being smuggled into the country.

After developing precise intelligence, officers of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) inspected two consignments on 26.11.2021. These consignments had arrived from Hong Kong, at Air Cargo Complex (ACC), Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. In the import documents, the goods were declared as “memory cards”. Physical examination, however, revealed that the consignments actually contained the following items–

Description	Quantity
iPhone 13 Pro	2,245
iPhone 13 Pro Max	1,401
Google Pixel 6 pro	12
Apple Smart Watch	1

Thus, a total of 3,646 iPhone-13 mobile phones were found in the intercepted consignments. The above mentioned mobile phones and apple smart watch, not having been declared, were seized under the Customs Act, 1962. The total value of the seized goods is around Rs. 42.86 crore, while the declared value of the goods was only Rs. 80 lakh.

iPhone 13 models went for sale in India from September 2021 onwards, with a base price of Rs. 70,000/-, and some of the higher-end models costing up to Rs. 1,80,000/-. Import of mobile phones into India attracts effective Customs Duty of around 44%.