The Indian Customs confiscated 222 iPhones of various models, 10 PS5 consoles and numerous electronic products that are worth over Rs 2.5 crore at the Delhi Airport. 

The smuggled electronics were caught at the airport’s new courier terminal in boxes that were mislabeled as "Dubai household products." 

Apart from electronics, an array of other products were also seized such as 173 used laptops, 4391 bottles of food supplements and cosmetics. 

© Twitter_Delhi Customs

Since Apple now offers a worldwide warranty on iPhones no matter where it has been purchased from; smugglers tend to smuggle iPhones from regions such as Dubai due to its lower price tag.  

In India, iPhones tend to be costlier than other regions which prompt smugglers to provide slightly cheaper iPhones that have been illegally imported from the aforementioned regions. 

SIIB, ACC Export Commissionerate intercepted & seized 222 Iphones of various models, 173 used laptops, 4391 bottles of food supplements, 10 Sony PS 5 & cosmetics with overall market value of around Rs 2.50Cr at NCT, Delhi. Goods were misdeclared as household goods from Dubai. pic.twitter.com/JrcChVY8VW

In a similar case, 367 iPhones worth Rs 3.19 crore were recovered from eight courier boxes from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that were marked as household supplies. 

The phones were seized last week Thursday, making it the second incident in one week. 

© Twitter_Delhi Customs

In the case of the PlayStation 5, due to shortages all over the world and especially in India, resellers tend to scalp the console for almost double its price. 

Even though the console is being sold in India officially, Sony has been unable to meet the demand which has led to parallel importers to source the console from other regions.

In India, it is illegal to import a large number of items and avoid paying duty which may result in fines and/or jail up to 5 years. A custom fraud case has been lodged against the suspect and a court hearing has been scheduled. 

The suspects responsible for importing these items have been apprehended and are now in Police custody. 

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