Two men from Maharashtra were detained by the Special Branch of Tripura Police at Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport in Agartala on Wednesday, June 17, after officials seized unaccounted cash totalling Rs 1.68 crore (reported as Rs 1,68,27,000) from their possession. The seizure and arrests prompted immediate handover of the suspects and the cash to the Income Tax Department and the Customs Department for further probe.
Police identified the detained men as Dattatry Thakram Virkar, 36, and Sajal Sachin Devkar, 21, both residents of Maharashtra. A senior police official said the money was recovered during a search operation at the airport on arrival.
Preliminary inquiries indicate the duo had been making repeated trips between Maharashtra and Agartala since June 4. Investigators suspect they were transporting bags filled with cash, delivering them to designated locations in Agartala and returning to Maharashtra by flight within a few hours.
Officials told investigators the carriers did not have passwords to open the baggage they transported; passwords were reportedly exchanged directly between persons at origin and destination points. This practice has raised suspicions of an organised cash-movement network operating between the two states.
Investigators also found that the suspects were allegedly given new mobile handsets for each trip, a measure authorities believe was intended to avoid detection and maintain secrecy. Agencies now are probing the source of the cash, its intended recipients and whether a larger syndicate is involved.
The Income Tax and Customs departments will continue the investigation in coordination with Tripura Police to trace the cash trail and establish links, if any, to broader illegal cash transportation operations.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/tripura/story/two-maharashtra-men-detained-at-agartala-airport-with-rs-168-crore-in-cash-1409967-2026-06-17?utm_source=rssfeed
Category:
Tags:
Publish Date: 2026-06-17 22:30:00
