Three employees of the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) were on Tuesday caught while posing as customs officials and extorting money and valuables from passengers, an official said, reported the PTI.

The trio allegedly posed as officials from the Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) and harassed passengers, the official said.

The official said that the AIU had received a tip-off that some MIAL employees allegedly intercepted passengers arriving by international flights, examined their baggage, and extorted valuables and money from them.

The trio has been taken into custody for investigations, and a probe is underway to nab others involved in the network, the official said.

Meanwhile, in an another incident, the Customs department seized suspected hydroponic weed worth nearly Rs 4 crore besides drones and smuggled exotic wildlife, both live and dead, in four separate cases at the Mumbai airport over the weekend, the officials said on Monday.

The Mumbai Customs arrested four passengers, who had landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) from Bangkok and Colombo respectively, in connection with the seizures, an official said.

In the first case, the Mumbai Customs sleuths seized 1.964 kg of suspected hydroponic weed (marijuana), valued at Rs 1.96 crore, and arrested the passenger carrying the contraband in his luggage, he said.

In an another case, the officials recovered wildlife (live animals), including iguanas (19), orange bearded dragons (10), raccoon (1 dead), quince monitor lizard (1 alive), squirrel (2 critical, 1 dead) and, Central American squirrel monkey (2 dead), according to the official.

These wildlife species were concealed inside a trolley bag carried by a passenger, who was placed under arrest following the seizure, he said.

In the third case, the Customs department intercepted a passenger who arrived from Colombo with seven drones valued at Rs 32.19 lakh. These drones are concealed inside a trolley bag carried by the passenger, he said.

In the fourth case, the Customs sleuths recovered 1.93kg of suspected hydroponic weed, valued at Rs 1.93 crore in the illicit market, and arrested the passenger carrying it. The passenger had arrived from Bangkok, the official added.

(with PTI inputs)

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