Mumbai Airport Customs officials stop Hardik Pandya and seized Rs 5 crore watch

Cricketer Hardik Pandya on Tuesday refuted reports that claimed two wrist watches worth Rs 5 crore were seized from him at the Mumbai airport on his return from Dubai, saying that that only one watch worth Rs 1.5 crore had been taken for “proper valuation”.

That two watches were seized by the Customs Department on Sunday night because Mr Pandya allegedly did not have a bill for the them. Hardik Pandya was returning from Dubai after India wrapped up its stint at the T20 World Cup.

According to report Hardik Pandya’s brother, cricketer Krunal Pandya was also intercepted at the Mumbai International Airport over suspicion of being in possession of undisclosed gold and other valuables last year.

However, after arriving at the airport, the customs officials found Hardik in possession of two luxury watches worth Rs 5 crores. The Mumbai Indians’ all-rounder allegedly did not have invoices for the watches, nor had he declared these watches as customs items.

As a consequence, the customs officials confiscated his watches. Notably, Hardik owns some of the most expensive watches in the world and his watch collection even includes the Patek Philippe Nautilus Platinum 5711 – which costs over Rs 5 crore.

Interestingly, last year, elder brother of Hardik, Krunal Pandya was detained at Mumbai Airport while returning from Dubai, over suspicion of being in possession of undisclosed gold and other valuables.

Krunal was found in possession of Gold worth INR 1 crore and some undisclosed luxury watches. The case was handed over to the Airport Customs as the case was a non-recurring type, according to the DRI officials.

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