Customs officers impound 'World Cup trophy' at Mumbai airport

Officers offered to waive the duty if they could get tickets for the final world cup match.

MUMBAI: Customs officers at Mumbai airport confiscated what they thought was the cricket World Cup trophy in a dispute over unpaid duty, Indian media reported on Saturday.

An official from the sport's governing body the International Cricket Council (ICC) arrived with the trophy on Thursday on a flight from Colombo, where it had been on display during the New Zealand-Sri Lanka semi-final.

But customs officers seized the silver and gold prize, which is valued at about $130,000, insisting that it was not exempt from import duty of nearly $50,000.

The Mumbai Mirror tabloid said the officers offered to waive the fee if they could get tickets for the final between India and Sri Lanka, which takes place in the city on Saturday.

"We can say they asked for a substantial number of tickets," one unnamed ICC official was quoted as saying.

The daily said officers were confused when they were told to keep the trophy until after the final, when the ICC would take it back to their headquarters in Dubai.

They were unaware that there were two identical trophies and the other had been at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium for the last month awaiting the winning captain, the report added.