Two men from Maharashtra were detained by the Special Branch of Tripura Police at Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport in Agartala on Wednesday, June 17, after officials recovered unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 1.68 crore from their possession.

Police identified the detained individuals as Dattatry Thakram Virkar (36) and Sajal Sachin Devkar (21), both residents of Maharashtra.

According to a senior police official, the cash, amounting to Rs 1,68,27,000, was recovered during a search operation at the airport. Following the seizure, the two men and the recovered money were handed over to officials of the Income Tax Department and Customs Department for further investigation.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the duo had allegedly been making frequent trips between Maharashtra and Agartala since June 4. Investigators suspect that they were involved in transporting cash-filled baggage between the two locations.

According to officials, the men would arrive in Agartala carrying bags containing cash, deliver them at designated locations within the city and return to Maharashtra by flight within a few hours.

Investigators also found that the carriers allegedly did not possess the passwords required to open the baggage they transported. The passwords were reportedly shared directly between individuals at the origin and destination points, raising suspicions of an organised network involved in cash movement.

Further, the suspects were allegedly provided with new mobile handsets for each trip, a practice investigators believe may have been intended to avoid detection and maintain secrecy.

Authorities are now probing the source of the cash, its intended recipients and the possible involvement of a larger network engaged in illegal cash transportation.