Customs officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) on Sunday booked three sets of people, including Bollywood director Ekta Kapoor, in various cases. On Sunday evening when director Ekta Kapoor was stopped at the green channel for carrying undeclared goods worth Rs 1 lakh in her luggage. “She had a lot of branded articles and was passing through the green channel. We imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on her. She was let off later,” said a customs official.

Early on Sunday morning, the officials caught three persons with 22 kg of saffron, making it the biggest such siezure in recent times. Customs officials said the trio was coming to Mumbai from Dubai on two different flights and was carrying saffron. They said one person came on a Kingfisher flight and the others on a Jet Airways flight. “They were ragged looking labourers, wearing dirty clothes and appeared unkempt. However, the parcels were neatly packed and cleverly camouflaged,” said a customs official. “This is a change in their operation. Normally, they send in such parcels with well-dressed businesspersons; this time they sent it across with gullible-looking labourers, perhaps hoping that we would not stop them at the green channel. The saffron route is long established on the Iran - Dubai - Mumbai route. We think these were headed to Manish market and Masjid Bunder,” he said. Each kilogram of saffron can cost as much as Rs 1 lakh in the free market, depending upon its purity. The customs department increases its vigillance for saffron, especially around the festival season.