Samer Sheth he was arrested last Saturday when he landed in Kolkata from Singapore. He was subsequently released on bail. He was wearing a Greubel Forsey brand watch, which had not been declared to customs authorities, the DRI said. The importation of watches by individuals through baggage attracts 38.5% of customs duties under baggage rules, which was evaded, the DRI said.
The DRI said the information suggested that “a person was in possession of more than 30 high-end premium watches of foreign origin smuggled into his residential premises. Intelligence further suggested that said person had gone abroad and would return to India with more high-end premium watches of foreign origin, which would be attempted to be smuggled into the country without paying duty.”
During the search, 34 watches from premium brands were recovered, including Greubel Forsey, Purnell, Louis Vitton, MB&F, Mad, Rolex and Audemars Piguet.