Over 2 kg gold seized from woman at Chennai airport

Chennai: The CISF personnel on Saturday seized over 2 kg gold valued around Rs 1 crore from a woman at Chennai international airport, officials said.

A senior CISF officer said Vijaykumari, who exhibited "suspicious behaviour", was intercepted and taken to a frisking booth where she was checked by women CISF personnel.

The woman, a housekeeping staff of Travel Food Services, Chennai, was stopped when she was walking out of the new international terminal building.

Around 2.4 kg (a total of 24 pieces of gold bars) wrapped in black adhesive and tied around her waist in a bandolier was found.
01/02/20 IANS/Outlook

Read More

Man detained from Srinagar airport for posting objectionable content on social media

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday detained a man from Srinagar international airport soon after he arrived here on an Air India flight from Delhi, officials said.
Mudasir Ahmad Teli, a resident of Habbakadal area of the city, is accused of posting objectionable content on social media platforms while he was away from Kashmir, the officials said.
31/01/30 PTI/Outlook

Read More

TV actor Karanvir Bohra deported at Delhi airport for not carrying right documents

Popular TV actor Karanvir Bohra, who was traveling to Nepal from Mumbai in an Air India flight, was deported at Delhi airport after he failed to furnish the right documents. The actor, who was carrying his Aadhar Card, was informed that the document was insufficient for him to go to Nepal by air.
Bohra later took to Twitter, questioning the airline as to why they let him board his flight from Mumbai if the document wasn't enough. "Deported at Delhi airport on my way to #nepal. trvlng wid #adhaarcar not allowed Nepal gov alows (PP,voters ID & Adhaar by road,by air only PP & VI)Then,Y did @airindiain in Mumbai let me fly with my Adhaar?Y didn't they stop me there? #indianembassy @DrSJaishankar@IndiaInNepal," he wrote.
The actor got his hands on his passport after someone flew to Delhi immediately to hand it over. Meanwhile, the airline responded to his tweet, with a list of documents one needed, “Thank u 4 this link,& I believe not only 4 the passengers,its 4the officials2, how could they allow me to travel on an invalid document? If I was told in Mumbai itself I wud have arranged it immed & not make my guy fly down2 Delhi to hand me the passport,” Bohra responded.
31/01/20 Bollywood Hungama

Read More

CISF detects foreign currencies worth Rs 1.34 cr at IGI Airport

New Delhi: In separate cases, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has detected huge foreign currencies worth Rs 1.34 crore at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, an official statement said here on Friday.
 In the first case, the CISF surveillance and intelligence staff on Thursday found USD 31,000 worth around Rs 22 lakh from the possession of two Afghan nationals, could not produce any valid documents for the same.
 The accused, identified as Abdul Saboor Amiri and Zafar Mohammad Nazari, were handed over to the Custom officials for further legal action.
 In another case, the airport guarding force detected 1,19,200 Euro and USD 2000 concealed in a turban of a passenger, who was later identified as Surinder Singh Seehra. He was bound to proceed for Bangkok and could not produce any valid documents for the possession of foreign currencies worth Rs 96 lakh.
 31/01/20 UNI

Read More

Air India cautions people as fake websites extract money, bank account details

New Delhi: Air India has urged passengers to be cautious against fake social media accounts and websites using airline's registered trademark and offering jobs and discounts on its flights.

"It has come to our notice that some miscreants are using our brand name & identity to extract confidential bank & personal details from passengers. Claiming to represent Air India, they are also demanding money in exchange for job.We request all to exercise caution," the state-owned airline said in a tweet.
Air India requested people to use its authentic website, mobile app or urged people to visit city booking offices or authorised agents for booking related issues. "Job aspirants should visit our website to check any notified vacancies," it added.
Warning operators of fake social media handles, the airline said if they didn't discontinued the illegal practice immediately, it would take legal actions against such accounts. The national carrier also urged people to refrain from indulging in conversations that insisted on sharing bank account details. "Air India shall not accept any liability towards the representation made in any fraudulent communication or its consequence," the airline said.
30/01/20 Business Today

Read More

Man Impersonating Octogenarian at IGI Airport Makes it to Global List of Aviation Events

New Delhi: The apprehension of a 32-year-old man, impersonating an octogenarian, by CISF personnel at the Delhi airport last year has made it to the CNN's 'most talked about aviation moments' of the world, a spokesperson for the airports guarding force said on Wednesday.
"The extraordinary detection of passenger Jayesh Patel by Sub Inspector Rajveer Singh has found a place in this global list which is a matter of pride for CISF," Assistant Inspector General Hemendra Singh said.
The impersonator's detection was possible as the force hugely invests in "behaviour detection skills and thorough frisking procedures" for its personnel deployed to guard 61 civil airports of the country at present, Singh said.
The CNN publication, issued last month, has listed the event under the 'misfires and mischief' sub-title with a picture of the passenger in his disguised look- comprising a snowy white beard and turban- using his cell-phone to call someone after he was apprehended by the CISF on September 8 last year at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport.
Patel, a resident of Ahmedabad, had coloured his hair and beard white as he arrived on a wheelchair to board a flight to New York. He allegedly used a fake passport with the name Amrik Singh, aged 81 years.
29/01/20 PTI/News18.com

Read More

Gold worth Rs 56.35 lakh seized at Kannur Int'l Airport, two held

Kannur: Customs sleuths on Monday seized 1.4 kilogram of gold valued at Rs 56.35 lakh from two passengers who arrived at Kannur International Airport from Dubai and Abu Dhabi through a GoAir flight.
Customs Assistant Commissioner Madhusudhanan Bhat-led team arrested Davood and Shahul Hameed, both hail from Kasaragod district in this connection.
Customs sources said that 700 grams of gold recovered from both Abdul Hameed, who arrived from Abu Dhabi and Davood from Dubai.
27/01/20 UNI

Read More

Udupi: Cyanide recovered from Mangaluru airport bomber Adithya Rao's bank locker

Mangaluru: Two bottles of cyanide has been recovered from the bank lockers of Adithya Rao, the accused in the bomb scare that occurred at Mangaluru international airport on January 20.

Rao was brought to Udupi for further investigation. He was taken to Karnataka Bank’s Kunjibettu branch, where he has an account as well as a safe deposit locker.

Upon checking the locker, the police recovered cyanide, which Adithya had stored with an intention of committing suicide. The poison has been sent to lab for tests.
Payments for the bomb materials were done from Karnataka bank Kunjibettu branch account. Rao was also taken to other places, where he resided as well as he worked. Adithya, who surrendered to the DGP at Bengaluru was brought to Mangaluru by the city police team led by ACP Belliappa. He was produced in court and was sent to police custody for 10 days. Since then, police are taking him to all the places where he worked, resided or came in contact with.
25/01/20 Daijiworld

Read More

Immigration Officials Block Trafficking Of Nine Girls Out Of Nigeria At Lagos Airport

New York: The Nigeria Immigration Service has intercepted an attempt to traffic nine girls out of the country through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
The service said the girls were to be trafficked to Lebanon, Cairo, Dubai and India on Ethiopian, Peace, Egypt and East Airlines.
Public Relations Officer of immigration, Mr Sunday James, in a statement on Saturday said that four of the girls after interrogation claimed that they were traveling out of Nigeria to take up employments without knowing their employers or the nature of jobs they were going out of the country for.
The statement said two of the girls claimed that they were embarking on visitation trip to India for medical treatment but were not in possession of referral letters from any hospitals in the country.
Also, at first, the two could not explain the nature of the ailments they had, but later claimed they had malaria fever.
However, after much interrogation by its personnel at the airport, they confessed “to be going to India to hustle”.
The other two said they were on a trip to Dubai for visit but later confessed they were going to Dubai for “hustling”.
James hinted that the trafficking was organised by agents aimed at exploiting their innocence and ignorance.
25/01/20 Sahara Reporters

Read More

Aviation Scam: Probe Agency Allowed To Question Deepak Talwar In Jail

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday granted permission to Enforcement Directorate (ED) to further interrogate corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar, who is in judicial custody, in connection with cases pertaining to an illicit aviation deal among others.
The court has allowed the ED to interrogate Deepak Talwar from January 27 to January 31 between 9 am and 5 pm as per jail rules.

The ED has sought permission for recording Deepak Talwar's statement in judicial custody under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann, while allowing the plea seeking permission to interrogate Deepak Talwar, stated that the ED is allowed to further interrogate the accused as per Rule 20(4) of the Delhi Prisons (Visitors of Prisons), Rules, 1988 and Rule 1347 of Delhi Prison Rules, 2018.

The economic offences watchdog, in its charge-sheet, said that the investigation has revealed that Deepak Talwar obtained undue favours for a private airlines using his contacts, causing losses to national carrier Air India.

Deepak Talwar was charged by the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in criminal cases of corruption, while the Income Tax Department charged him with tax evasion.
25/01/20 ANI/NDTV

Read More

Man held with US dollars worth Rs 12 lakh at Delhi airport

New Delhi: A Bangkok-bound passenger was apprehended by CISF personnel on Sunday at the Delhi airport for allegedly carrying US dollars worth Rs 12 lakh concealed inside a pair of sandals kept in his bag, officials said.
Mohammed Waseem was apprehended at the Terminal-3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport at 5 am when his bag was being scanned, they said.

The CISF personnel seized 17,000 USD worth about Rs 12 lakh from the pair of sandals kept in Waseem''s bag, the officials said.
26/01/20 PTI/Outlook

Read More

Escapee From India Arrested At Newark International Airport; 17 Years After Name Topped Under ‘Quebec’s 10 Most Wanted List’

A 46-year-old escapee from India was caught at Newark Liberty International Airport last Sunday. Police reports suggest that he sexually assaulted five young boys from the year 1998 to 2003. And he was in the most wanted list of the crime bureau. Kapoor arrived in Canada almost 17 years ago after he got to know that he has an arrest warrant against his name.
He is suspected of sexually assaulting five young teens in Montreal. He mostly used young boys as his targets, lured them into his house, and then engaged with them in sexual activities. After police were reported about the case, they issued an international arrest warrant so that he would return to Canada if he were somewhere else in the world.
The police officials from Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police and U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Border Protection and Interpol worked equally hard to get hold of the criminal who was flying away from the scene. He was presented in the Newark federal court on Tuesday and was later taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals.
According to the recent media reports, Interpol concluded that the man faces several charges which includes sexual assault, incitement of children to engage in sexual acts and production, and possession of child pornography. The Interpol and U.S. Attorney’s Office is looking after the case, and his prison life will be decided in the upcoming court hearing.
25/01/20 Soham Saha/The Innersane

Read More

Mangaluru: BJP leaders were targeting one community in airport bomb case - Mithun Rai

Mangaluru: “BJP leaders Prahlad Joshi, Renukacharya, Eshwarappa and Basavaraj Bommaih should apologise for their statement on bomb scare at Mangaluru International Airport,” said District Youth Congress president Mithun Rai.
Addressing media here on Saturday, January 25 Mithun Rai said, "Because of their statements there was possibility of communal violence, disturbance of peace and harmony of the district. So they need to apologize for their statement. We have seen several media reports that even police claimed it was a live bomb, there was a timer and taken to a safe zone and detonated. It was also reported that 10 kg of RDX was found along with the bomb. If it was the case then where that 10 kg of RDX came from? Who gave it to him? And who all are behind this act?
"All were targeting one particular community with this incident. Criminal has no religion or caste only has vested interest. Mangaluru should be famous for good reasons and not for bad ones.
“Due to the police firing and bomb scare incident, our district has fallen down in development. We have gone 10 years back. Mangaluru is becoming a scape goat and Dakshina Kannada district is used as laboratory for communal violence. Even several multinational companies are not ready to invest in Mangaluru. District Youth Congress will not tolerate such type of incident in the district.
25/01/20 Daijiworld

Read More

Bomb scare-accused taken to airport for spot inspection

Mangaluru: Aditya Rao,36, will be in 10-day police custody for triggering a bomb scare at Mangalore International Airport (MIA). He was taken to the airport and various other places for spot mahajar on Friday.
On Friday, under heavy police cover, he was taken to a salon in Kenjar, where he had placed his bag first, before dropping the backpack with an IED in it at MIA. “The accused was cooperative throughout the spot mahajar,” a source added.
Aditya procured materials required for making the IED from an online portal based in Chennai. “If time permits, Aditya will be taken to Chennai for the investigation,” the source added.
25/01/20 Times of India

Read More

Air Asia PMLA case: R Venkataramanan did not ignore ED summons, says Tata Sons

Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate, on Friday, clarified that R Venkataramanan, former director of AirAsia India, did not ignore any summons issued by Enforcement Directorate (ED) or other agencies in connection with a money laundering case.

AirAsia India is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Malaysia’s AirAsia Berhad, both owning 49 percent each. Venkataramanan was the Tata Sons nominee on the board of AirAsia India. He stepped down as managing trustee of the Tata Trusts in March last year and later exited AirAsia India.

Claiming that media reports of Venkataramanan ignoring summons on three occasions as factually incorrect, Tata Sons said he received the summons for the first time on January 22, 2020.

However, based on due enquiry undertaken by Air Asia India, there has been no wrongdoing by Venkataramanan, the company said in a press release.

Probe in the PMLA case is related to allegations that the airline tried to manipulate government policies through corrupt means to get the international licence for its Indian venture Air Asia India.
25/01/20 CNBC TV18

Read More

DRI books 5 gold smuggling cases in a single day at RGIA

Hyderabad: DRI sleuths registered five cases of gold smuggling in a single day RGI Airport on Thursday and arrested four persons. “All seizures were made within 4-5 hours on Thursday. We seized about four kilo gold worth Rs 1.66 crore,” said a DRI official.

Early on Thursday, DRI officers rummaged an Air India flight from Dubai and recovered 841 grams of gold biscuits. “They were wrapped in tape and concealed inside a hollow tube under the seat,” said an official.

Later, the sleuths intercepted an Omar Air flight passenger, from Muscat, at the customs check area. In his checked-in baggage, they found 700 grams of gold bars inside a microwave oven.
DRI also intercepted another passenger from Dubai in an Indigo flight and recovered 928 grams of gold paste in capsules in his rectum. Two more passengers from Saudi Arabia in a Saudi Airlines flight also were held for carrying capsules containing gold paste in their rectums. DRI team extracted 797 and 817 grams of gold from the two accused.
25/01/20 Times of India

Read More

ED issues fresh summons to Air Asia CEO, other executives in PMLA case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to senior executives of AirAsia airlines, including CEO Tony Fernandes, for questioning next month in connection with a money laundering case, officials said on Friday.

According to sources, the central agency has asked Fernandes to appear before the investigating officer of the case here on February 5, his deputy and former Deputy Group CEO of Malaysia-based AirAsia Berhad Bo Lingam on February 3 and R Venkataramanan, former Director Air Asia India Ltd, on February 10.
A Tata Sons spokesperson said Venkataramanan had received the summons "first time" on January 22 and it was incorrect to say he ignored any communication sent to him by the federal probe agency.

"Mr Venkataramanan has confirmed he will be attending to the ED summons as required," the spokesperson said, adding he was a non-executive nominee director of Tata Sons on the board of AirAsia Ltd when the airlines took shape.

"Based on due enquiry undertaken by Air Asia Limited, there has been no wrongdoing by Mr R Venkataramanan," he added.

Few others linked to the present and past management of the airline have also been asked to depose, sources said.

The ED had earlier asked some of these executives to appear this month but after some failed to appear or sought additional time, new dates have been given, they said.

The summons have been issued under the PMLA and as per sources, the executives will be questioned and their statements recorded in connection with the investigation.
24/01/20 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

Read More

Azharuddin threatens Rs 100 cr defamation over FIR

Hyderabad: Former Indian cricket captain and former MP Mohammad Azharuddin on Thursday denied allegations of cheating levelled by a travel agency in Maharashtra and threatened to file defamation suit of Rs 100 crore.

"Those who filed the FIR have done it only to be in the limelight. There is no truth in it. The allegations are baseless," Azharuddin said in a video message on Twitter.

Azahruddin, who is now president of Hyderabad Cricket Association, said he would soon seek advice from his lawyer and will file Rs 100 crore defamation case against those who lodged the FIR.

A case was filed in Aurangabad on Wednesday against Azharuddin and two others for allegedly cheating a local travel agent of around Rs 21 lakh.

The complaint was lodged by Shahab Y. Mohammed, 49, proprietor of Danish Tours & Travels here, a former executive with the defunct Jet Airways.
23/01/20 IANS/Outlook

Read More

Rare species of exotic animals seized at Chennai Airport, smuggling racket busted

In what is the first seizure of wildlife that was being smuggled into India via Chennai Aiport in 2020, Air Intelligence Officers have seized rare species such as marmoset monkeys, tamarin monkeys, tricolour squirrels and iguanas that were being smuggled in from Bangkok.

Officials say that in most cases of smuggling be it wildlife or valuables, it is only the courier that is caught, but this case also saw the organiser being nabbed.

Based on the information that wild animals are likely to be smuggled from Bangkok, Air Intelligence officers had been maintaining a special vigil. On Tuesday morning AIU officers noticed that one passenger was moving in a suspicious manner in the arrival area. On close watch, it was observed that he collected his checked-in stroller bag and started to walk hurriedly, after which he was intercepted and questioned at the exit.

The passenger was identified as one Suresh(35), of Chennai who had arrived from Bangkok by Thai Airways flight TG337. His evasive replies prompted the officials to proceed with checking his belongings.
22/01/20 Sidharth MP/DNA

Read More

Mangaluru: Bomb scare at international airport is intelligence failure - MLA U T Khader

Mangaluru: “The bomb scare at Mangaluru international airport is nothing but an intelligence failure,” said MLA U T Khader.
Addressing media here on Wednesday, January 22, Khader said, "The first instance of intelligence failure was when the accused planted bomb at Mangaluru International Airport with such ease and second failure was when the accused easily landed in Bengaluru and then he surrendered to police. Where was police despite having CCTV footage and pictures of the accused? How come the accused reach Bengaluru so easily? Planting bomb at the airport is a serious issue and such ant-social elements exist in all religions.
"BJP leaders came to conclusion before the culprit was apprehended. We need to understand what made him to carry out this crime. If he was mentally not stable, then how it was possible for him to know to fix the bomb and escape from the airport and reach Bengaluru without any problem and then surrender to police? He alone cannot do this. I suspect there is a conspiracy behind the incident. The conspirator needs to be identified first.
“Home minister Basavaraj Bommai and union minister Prahlad Joshi need to apologise for their statements made with regards to the bomb scare,” he said.
When asked about H D Kumaraswamy's statement that it was a mock show, Khader said, "Kumaraswamy is a former chief minister, who has handled the Home department. He has his own sources based upon which he has expressed suspicion about the incident.”
22/01/20 daijiworld

Read More