New Delhi:  A Chinese woman has been arrested by the DRI at the international airport here for allegedly trying to smuggle foreign currency, worth nearly Rs 2 crore, out of the country, according to an official statement. The accused was intercepted by the officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on late Tuesday night when she was to board a flight to Hong Kong.   

The officials seized USD 3 lakh (valued at Rs 1.95 crore) in USD 100 and USD 50 denominations. The currency notes were kept concealed in specially-made cavities inside sweet boxes, which were kept in the woman's check-in and hand baggage, the statement said. "During interrogation, it has been revealed that the lady is a carrier of a major international hawala syndicate and has travelled to India many times in the past for similar acts of smuggling," it added.   

Further, it was found that to avoid detection, the syndicate had been using foreign nationals for the last two years to send forex out of India and smuggle gold into the country, the statement said. Most of the carriers did not know English or Hindi and worked for the syndicate for small pecuniary gains, it added.   

The 41-year-old accused, a resident of Han Zhing village in Shaanxi province of China, has been sent to judicial custody by a court here. The DRI had, in the last financial year, seized foreign currency worth Rs 34 crore and arrested 54 persons for their alleged involvement in the smuggling of forex. PTI