Senior Telangana minister P Srinivasa Reddy’s son P Harsha Reddy has come under Customs scanner for his alleged involvement in the smuggling of high-end watches worth several crores of rupees.
The Customs officials in Chennai have issued a summons to Harsha Reddy in connection with the purchase of two luxury watches worth Rs 1.7 crore that were allegedly smuggled from Hong Kong via Singapore.
The watches were seized from Mohammed Mubeen, a “courier” and dealer of luxury watches, who returned from Singapore on February 5.
According to Chennai Customs officials, the watches – a Patek Philipe 5740 and a Breguet 2759 – were concealed in Mubeen’s bag.
The operation was carried out based on a tip-off received by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU).
Harsha Reddy allegedly purchased the watches through an intermediary, A Naveen Kumar, who placed the order with Mubeen.
It has also been alleged that hawala transactions and cryptocurrency were involved in the purchase, and that Kumar identified the watches as those purchased by Harsha Reddy.
A director in the family-owned real estate company Raghava Projects, Harsha Reddy was issued the summons on March 28 and was told to appear before Customs officials on April 4 to record his statement.
However, he has sought more time due toil health. He has sought time till April 27 to appear before the Customs officials.
A larger investigation has also been launched against the intermediary, Kumar, who Chennai Customs officials suspect to have been involved in the smuggling of luxury watches worth over Rs 100 crore.
The original value of the watches was estimated by Customs to be Rs 1.73 crore; the Patek Philipe has no dealer in India, while the Breguet is out of stock in the Indian market, an official press release by Customs Department said.
Chennai Customs Principal Commissioner (Airport Commissionerate) R Srinivasa Naik said they were also investigating other instances of smuggling of luxury watches.
He said a local court had dismissed Kumar’s anticipatory bail plea and that the investigation against him was ongoing. It is in connection to this that Harsha Reddy was summoned, he said.
Harsha’s father Srinivasa Reddy, Telangana Minister for Revenue, Housing, Information and Public Relations, refused to comment, saying that his son would issue a statement later, clarifying the matter.
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