Titanic watch smuggling bid foiled

Airport Customs officials arrested a man for smuggling a watch into the country. Not just any watch, but a Romain Jerome  Titanic-DNA Dual Tourbillon Day and Night Spiral Watch, which is worth Rs18 lakh.

It is one among only nine other Romain Jerome watches made out of the body of the Titanic, the famous ship that sank in 1912.
Customs officials arrested the man, identified as Mohammed Ansar Damda, 52, on Wednesday at around 5.30pm. “We received a tip-off that a person was coming in from Dubai carrying expensive items. When Damda was trying to go through the green channel, we stopped him and checked his luggage, but found nothing of value. However, when we conducted a body search, we was found to be carrying this rare and expensive watch,” said a senior customs official at the airport.

Damda, who is a native of Bhatkal in Karnataka, took the Emirates flight number 502 to Mumbai, and was supposed to go to Bhatkal from the city.

Custom officials believe that he was smuggling the watch for someone wealthy in either Delhi or Mumbai. “We are trying to find out whom he was supposed to hand the watch over to. This watch is rare, one of the nine pieces existing around the world, and only somebody from an extremely affluent family could afford it,” said the official.

During investigation, the accused claimed that he runs a garment business in Bhatkal. However, officials have found him to be involved in previous cases of gold-smuggling. “He is a professional high-end smuggler. As of now, he is a tough nut to crack as he is not cooperating with us at all,” added the official.
PM Saleem, airport customs commissioner, said that further investigations into the matter are on.