Tamil Nadu, Jan 24 (IANS): An air passenger was arrested by customs officials at Trichy Airport for possessing huge foreign currency without having valid documents, official said on Monday.

"On January 22, the passenger was intercepted at Trichy Airport when he was about to catch a fight for Dubai. We have seized 50,000 Saudi Arabian Riyals and 5,000 US Dollars equivalent to Rs 13.30 lakh from his possession. He was asked about the currency to which he couldn't give any satisfactory answer after which he was detained and later arrested," said the official.

The official said that the currency was recovered from the hand luggage of the passenger.

However, the customs official refused to divulge information about the identity of the passenger.

The passenger was taken to a government hospital for the medical examination. Later after getting his Covid report the passenger was produced before the concerned court which remanded him to judicial custody. The custom official had told the court that he wasn't required for further interrogation.

The customs has informed about the arrest of the passenger to concerned government department. The passport of the passenger was also seized by the official.

"In such cases the local police is also informed about the arrest so that their previous criminal record could be checked," said a custom official.