Krunal Pandya of Mumbai Indians was stopped by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials at the Mumbai International Airport over suspicion of possessing undisclosed gold jewellery. The IPL 2020 winner Mumbai Indians all-rounder spinner was questioned at the airport for possession of excess gold from Dubai.
Cricketer Krunal Pandya was on Thursday detained at the Mumbai International Airport by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for allegedly having undisclosed gold and other valuables as confirmed by DRI sources.
Krunal Pandya Stopped At Mumbai Airport For Possessing Undisclosed Gold
Krunal Pandya, brother of Hardik Pandya who also plays for Mumbai Indians, had returned shortly after 5 pm by a flight from UAE when he was stopped at the airport by DRI personnel.
He was reportedly questioned for 3 hours at Mumbai Airport, and about 1 crore worth watches were confiscated. He was stopped based on a tip-off and was found to allegedly have in possession two diamond-studded Audemars Piguet and two Rolex models that were not declared to Customs. The watches were confiscated after which he left the premises.
“Cricketer Krunal Pandya stopped by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Mumbai International Airport over suspicion of being in possession of undisclosed gold and other valuables, while returning from UAE,” reports quoted DRI sources as saying.
Reports also claimed that the 29-year-old had made purchases of valuables, including gold chains, totalling a huge amount, above the permissible limits as per Indian laws.
Krunal Pandya Was A Member Of Mumbai Indians Who Won IPL 2020
Krunal Pandya was part of the Mumbai Indians team which won their record fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title on November 10, defeating Delhi Capitals in the final match in Dubai.
The all-rounder has played 71 matches for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He was the player of the match in the IPL 2017 final. He had scored 109 runs and taken 6 wickets in 16 games in IPL 2020. He had scored exactly 1000 runs and taken 46 wickets in IPL career.
Besides, DRI officer said on being asked if Krunal Pandya should pay fine that customs would handle it, they would first recover customs duty as the case has been handed over to customs after the detection. However, after that, the team left the airport.
The officer added that the value of the articles is likely to be less than Rs. 1 crore and that there would be a valuation done to arrive at the correct value.