VASCO: The Customs sleuths at the Dabolim airport have seized a cash of ` 26 lakh from a passenger who traveled to the state on an international flight early Monday morning.

A highly placed source has disclosed that Customs officials are verifying whether the seized amount was brought into the state in order to be distributed among the voters in view of the upcoming assembly polls.
The Customs sleuths at the airport conducted the raid, following    information and seized ` 26 lakh from the passenger who had traveled by an international flight at around 5.30 a.m. The passenger hails from Sawantwadi in Maharashtra.
It is learnt that Customs officials are keeping a close watch on the movement of the passengers traveling to Goa by international as well as domestic flights.
The seized amount is said to be the biggest haul of the year. The Custom sleuths are verifying all possible angles and they have taken the passenger into the custody for interrogation.
“The Election Commission of India has issued strict orders to the airport authorities to maintain round-the-clock vigil on the movement of passengers and also to prevent the flow of cash,” stated a senior official attached to the Airport Authority of India.
The regulatory agencies at the airport which include Custom authorities, Income Tax officials, intelligence agencies, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have been asked to keep round-the-clock surveillance at the airport in order to enforce the order issued by the Election Commission of India, stated the highly placed source.