Air India Passenger Arrested For Gold Smuggling After Refusing In-Flight Food
An Air India Passenger was arrested at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport for smuggling gold. The passenger’s unusual behavior during the five-and-a-half-hour flight AI 992 from Jeddah to Delhi raised suspicions.
According to the report in News18, the unnamed man repeatedly declined refreshments during the flight. He refused to drink water offered by the flight attendant and subsequently declined all other food and drink. This unusual behavior led the flight attendant to alert the captain. The captain thus informed the security agencies through Air Traffic Control about the suspicious behavior.
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Upon arrival at the Delhi Airport, security personnel closely monitored the passenger. While he was trying to pass through the Green Customs Clearance Channel, he was stopped for questioning. During the investigation, they found that the man had hidden the gold inside his rectum. The gold worth Rs 69 lakh was smuggled by making it into oval capsules.
Joint Commissioner (Customs) Monika Yadav said that approximately 1096.76 grams of gold were recovered from the Air India passenger. He was arrested under the sections of the Customs Act. An investigation has been launched into the incident.
Following the incident, the cabin crew has been instructed to pay attention to the passengers who refuse to take food and drinks during the long flights as it is suspected that they might be smuggling gold in their bodies.
Earlier this year, a souvenir shop at Chennai airport was exposed as a front for a Sri Lankan gold smuggling syndicate. The shop’s owner was recruited by the syndicate to help them smuggle gold. He was arrested for his role in helping smuggle 267 kg of gold worth Rs 167 crore over a period of two months.
