Bengaluru, Mar 4 (IANS): Two women were arrested at the Bengaluru airport for allegedly smuggling in foreign goods, including iPhones, saffron, aromatic tobacco and cigars, an official said on Wednesday.

"The duo was taken into custody on landing at the Kempegowda international airport for smuggling in goods, including iPhones, saffron, tobacco and cigars into the city," said a Customs official here.

The Customs air intelligence wing estimated the value of the smuggled goods to be around Rs 78 lakh and seized from the accused.

"The accused, aged 36 and 33 years, flew into the city on Monday in an Emirates flight from Dubai via Mumbai on Monday. They hail from Ahmedabad and Mumbai," said the official.

Of the exotic goods siezed, 30 were the latest models of Apple's iPhones, including 28 max models and two 12 PRO models, combinedly valued over Rs 40 lakh.

On inspecting the duo's luggage, the Customs officials also found 10 air pods valued at 2.5 lakh.

"The accused also tried to smuggle in 57kg of saffron valued at Rs 35 lakh, a packet of Cuban cigars worth Rs 5,000 1,775kg tobacco worth Rs 24,500," recalled the official.

"On profiling the passenger, the 2 women were caught and handed over to the police. They were arrested and released on bail on Tuesday," added the official.

As regular and direct international flights have not been resumed due to the Covid-induced restrictions, many passengers land at Delhi or Mumbai and take a connecting flight to the city with contraband goods.