Mumbai Indians and Team India cricketer Krunal Pandya and his wife were detained at Mumbai airport by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Thursday evening. Pandya was allegedly trying to bring in undeclared diamond-studded and other luxury watches. According to a Indian Express report, Pandya, 29, was stopped on the basis of a tip-off and found to allegedly have in possession two diamond-studded Audemars Piguet and two Rolex models that were not declared to Customs. The total value of the watches is estimated to be about Rs 1 crore. Pandya was questioned for about three hours, after the team arrived around 4.30 pm on a chartered flight, and allowed to leave after the watches were confiscated.
“The case and the watches have been handed over to the Customs unit at the Mumbai airport. The player will have to pay the duty and a fine if he wishes to take possession of the watches,” sources said. Imported luxury watches can attract duty of up to 38.5 per cent of value that is in excess of the duty free allowance of Rs. 35,000, in this case. Krunal recently featured for Mumbai Indians in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) held in UAE. The Rohit Sharma-led side won their fifth IPL title on Tuesday after defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) in the finals of the tournament. The franchise had earlier won the tournament in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019. 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 and had helped Mumbai Indians defeat Rising Pune Supergiant to claim their third title.
