By IANS,
Kolkata : Brazilian striker Jose Ramirez Barreto, who plays for Mohun Bagan here, received his passport back Tuesday, more than a month after he was arrested at Kolkata airport for carrying undeclared cash.
“I am relieved to get back my passport today. I have an open air-ticket and will fly to my family in Brazil by Wednesday. A long rest is needed before I return to the field,” the footballer told reporters.
The player Monday filed a contempt-of-court petition in the Calcutta High Court against Calcutta Customs Commissioner Gautam Roy alleging that the official refused to return his passport despite the order of Barasat additional chief judicial magistrate’s (ACJM) court in North 24-Parganas district.
Barreto’s lawyer Biswabrata Basu Mallik said: “We have withdrawn the case after Barreto got back his passport.”
Justice Asim Kumar Roy had directed Barreto to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs.1.5 million and a bond of Rs.10,000 as a condition to reclaim his passport from the lower court. He was also asked to return to India within six weeks.
The high court asked the 31-year-old Brazilian striker to re-deposit his passport to the Barasat ACJM court within two days of his return.
Senior Mohun Bagan Club official Anjan Mitra was the guarantor for Barreto.
The footballer was arrested at the airport here March 20 on the charge of travelling with excess foreign exchange totalling $20,500. He was arrested under the Customs Act prior to his boarding a Dubai-bound flight en route to Brazil.
Barreto enjoys iconic status in Kolkata. He reportedly gets Rs.6 million annually, making him the highest paid overseas footballer in India.