Singer Mika Singh, who is known as much for his music as for his flair for controversy, has once again made headlines, this time for a bold anecdote about an old run-in with Indian Customs officials. In a recent chat with YouTuber Shubhankar Mishra, Mika recounted how a moment of anger led him to tweet that he was entering India with USD 2 lakh in foreign currency, daring officials to stop him.Mika Singh vs CustomsThe incident dates back to a time when IRS officer Sameer Wankhede allegedly stopped Mika and his band members at the airport for carrying foreign currency exceeding the permissible limit. “Sameer Wankhede — he is my good friend now — stopped me once. The members of my band were also with me. At that time, each person was allowed to carry USD 1,000. Now I think the permissible limit is USD 10,000,” Mika said.He recalled being upset when told he couldn’t carry the amount, and how news quickly spread outside the airport that he had been ‘detained.’ “I hadn’t even heard that word before. I was so sad,” he admitted.Tweet that triggered chaosWhat happened next was pure Mika-style drama. “I became very angry, particularly since I used to do a lot of shows for the Customs department. Then, I tweeted saying, ‘I am coming with USD 2 lakh; catch me if you can!’” he shared. True to his prediction, the airport was teeming with officials when he landed. “It was like Dawood Ibrahim was about to step out wearing gold around the neck,” he quipped.
Mika clarified that the tweet was made in jest and said he never expected officials to take it seriously. “I posted it without giving it much thought. I asked them, ‘What did you guys think — that I would actually bring USD 2 lakh with me? I’m not some idiot.’”In the end, though his dollar joke fizzled out, the officials still found something to act upon. “I had two bottles of premium scotch whisky with me. They imposed customs duty on that instead,” he concluded with a laugh.
