New Delhi, Dec 20 (IANS): A man carrying 73,000 Saudi riyals valued at Rs 16 lakh inside the false bottom of his bag was nabbed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here, an official said on Tuesday.

The CISF staff posted at Terminal-3 of IGI airport noticed suspicious activities of the accused, who has been identified as Sheikh Pappu Khan, in the check-in area.

Khan was supposed to travel from Delhi to Dubai by a Spicejet flight. On suspicion, he was diverted to the random checking point for thorough checking of his luggage. On checking his bag through X-BIS machine, doubtful image of 'false bottom' was noticed.

Thereafter, Khan was allowed to complete the check-in formalities and was kept under close watch through physical and electronic surveillance.

"After clearing the check-in process and immigration formalities, Khan was intercepted by CISF staff and was brought to the Customs office. On thorough checking of his bag, in the presence of Customs officials, 73,000 Saudi riyals valued at Rs 16 lakh were found concealed inside the false bottom of his bag," a CISF official said.

When asked, Khan could not produce valid documents to carry such huge amount of foreign currency.