A case of attempted duty evasion by a senior citizen at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has put both Customs as well as the Air Intelligence Unit in a dilemma.
A 62-year-old woman who was allegedly carrying banned steroids was stopped by the authorities on Wednesday morning.
Considering that she is a senior citizen the agencies are finding it difficult to decide what action can be taken against her. The steroids she was carrying are banned drugs, used for body building purposes.
The authorities had not arrested the woman till late on Wednesday evening. Seemingly a first time carrier and from a sound background, the lady reportedly claimed that she was carrying the steroids for her children who indulge in body building, a version that the agencies refuse to believe.
According to sources, the woman was intercepted in the green channel and searched under the supervision of assistant commissioner (Customs) Sameer Wankhede after she alighted from a Jet Airways flight from Bangkok.
The Customs officers found over 500 tablets as well as injections of andrelon and testosterone in her possession.
However, all these were veterinary drugs and their packets specifically mentioned ‘only for animal consumption’.
While it clearly indicates what harm the drugs could cause to the human body, the woman claimed that she had brought them because she was told it’s good for health.
The sources added that the woman was accompanied by her son-in-law and he could be the person behind transporting the steroids.
“It seems likely that it was her son-in-law’s plot but all the bags were tagged in her name and she owned up the responsibility. That’s why the panchnama has been filed in her name,” said a source.
The market price of a single injection carried by woman is anywhere between $100 to $200, the sources claimed. However, the exact value of the seized steroids could not be decided.
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