iPhones worth $134,000 seized, smuggled into India as 'garments'
Wesley HilliardSmugglers attempt to avoid taxes by calling iPhone 12 Pros garments
Delhi officials foil yet another smuggling attempt as they discovered 90 iPhones — all iPhone 12 Pro — in boxes labeled as "garments."
Due to import taxes, it is very expensive to import devices like Apple's iPhone to India. Many people attempt to fool customs by smuggling the devices in through sketchy means.
A Tweet from Asian News International explained the situation.
ACC Export Commissionerate at New Courier Terminal intercepted 3 consignments & seized 90 iPhone 12 Pro having market value approx Rs.1 cr due to the alertness of officer posted at X-ray scanning. Consignments were shipped from Dubai & misdeclared as garments: Delhi Customs pic.twitter.com/mcK1n3mgU1
— ANI (@ANI) July 9, 2021
It is unclear if anyone responsible for the attempted smuggling will be found or arrested. The iPhones were shipped from Dubai and declared to be garments, but the x-ray tech was able to catch the deception.
As iMore points out, smuggling of this nature is a regular occurrence in India. In June, two men were arrested for attempting to smuggle 80 iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max into the country.
An iPhone 12 Pro costs $1,269 in India, nearly $300 more than in the United States and other countries. However, losing $134,000 worth of iPhones in a smuggling attempt is a much more costly venture.
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