Brazilian footballer Jose Ramirez Barreto has been arrested on Thursday by customs in Kolkata.
Barreto was detained at the Kolkata Airport on Thursday morning as he was travelling with $18,000 without proper documents required for carrying foreign currency.
He was granted an interim bail by the district court of North 24 Parganas under the security of Rs 10000.
His passport has been seized by the customs and he will not be allowed to leave India. He has to appear before the district court on April 3 for the final bail hearing.
“Sometime small things are hyped into big issues. I think it was a bit careless from Barreto as well to not have proper documents with him. I think he is one of the finest human being as well honest. He is a big believer in God as well. He always prays and he is very sincere person. He is one guy who will never try to do anything illegal,” India captain Baichung Bhutia, who plays for Bagan in domestic football, said.
Mohun Bagan General Secretary Anjan Mitra told CNN-IBN that Barreto was travelling with three members of his family to Mauritius and they were carrying $18,000.
Every foreigner is allowed to carry a maximum of $5000 on foreign travel but a change of plans led to Barreto carrying all the money and getting arrested by customs officials.
Barreto plays for Mohan Bagan and is said to be costliest footballer in India.
The 31-year-old striker came to India from Brazil on January 12, 2000 and joined Mohun Bagan.
Though he left the club in 2004 but in June 2006, he switched back from Mahindra United to Bagan.
