Man held at RGIA with fake passport

Hyderabad:  A person from Kerala, who landed at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport from Dubai by using some other person’s passport was nabbed by security officials at the airport on Monday.
The airport police said Syed Rafeeq had gone to Dubai in 2017 to work as a class IV employee and his passport was seized by his employer in Dubai. Rafeeq, who did not like the work environment in Dubai, decided return to India.
As his Indian Passport was in possession of his employer in Dubai, Rafeeq bought a passport belonging to someone else through some agent in Dubai. The passport bought by Rafeeq was issued in the name of Anil Kumar. Rafeeq claimed to be Anil and managed to board the flight from Dubai and reached Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. However, at Hyderabad airport, the immigration officials found something fishy during interrogation.
“The passport on which Rafeeq had travelled from Dubai to Hyderabad has someone else’s photograph. This forced the airport staff to arrest him,” sub-inspector Shiva Kumar said.
The police is investigating about who sold the passport to Rafeeq in Dubai. After reaching Hyderabad, Rafeeq was supposed to go to Kerala. After his arrest. Cops booked Rafeeq under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Indian Passport Act.
20/03/18 Times of India

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CBI begins probe against ex-ground handling staffer at Karipur airport

Kochi: The CBI has started investigation against a former junior customer agent of a public sector company engaged in ground handling service at the Karipur airport, for allegedly facilitating gold smuggling. The CBI had last month registered an FIR against Sidheeque M V, of Mampuram, Malappuram, who was a Junior Customer Agent with Air India Air Transport Services Ltd, a subsidiary company of Air India, which operates ground handling service at the airports across India.

On April 26, 2017, Directorate Revenue Intelligence (DRI) intercepted Sidheeque at the main entrance of the international departure area and seized two gold bars weighing 1 kg each from him. The gold bars, having 24-carat purity, were concealed inside leather pouch kept at the back pockets of his pants. The gold bars were worth `58,70,000. The DRI found the gold was brought by a passenger who arrived on a flight at the airport the previous day.

On April 25, Sidheeque was deployed at the check-in counter on system boarding duty of Air India flight afternoon shift. He was working at the airport since November 9, 2016. After the incident, Sidheeque was suspended. The case was registered under IPC sections 120B and 420 and section 13(2) and 13(1) (d) of Prevention of Corruption Act. The FIR of the case was filed before the CBI C ourt in Kochi.
20/03/18 New Indian Express

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2 Thai citizens caught smuggling gold in shirt buttons by Ludhiana customs

Ludhiana: In a major action commissioner of customs, Ludhiana has seized gold worth Rs. 26.61 lakh at Chandigarh airport from two residents of Bangkok on Monday morning. The passengers tried to smuggle the gold by concealing it in buttons of shirts but their bluff was called off by alertness of custom officials.
According to AS Ranga, Commissioner of Customs, Ludhiana “Two passengers one male and female, residents of Bangkok arrived from Bangkok by Air India flight number A1337 today at Chandigarh International Airport around 8.50 in the morning. Both the passengers were intercepted by our staff while they were trying to cross the green channel. They were asked if whether they have any restricted or contraband item to which they denied.'
Ranga also added, “Then after X-Ray which showed some dotted image of some metallic presence, their baggage was opened and we found eight shirts having stitched buttons. On checking minutely it was found that gold was concealed in these stitched buttons and total 192 nickel coated ringlets weighing 455 grams having value of Rs. 13.84 lakh were recovered from the female passenger. Meanwhile during the search of male passenger our team recovered a gold chain, one kada and buckle of belt all of which weighing 422 grams and having value of Rs. 12.77 lakh.”
20/03/18 Mohit Behl/Times of India

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Two arrested over bomb hoax call to Chennai airport

Chennai: A bomb threat call to the airport here turned out to be a hoax and two persons have been arrested in this connection, police said today.

The call was received at the police control room last night with the caller claiming that one Sakthi Saravanan had told him that he was going to plant a bomb at the international terminal here, they said.

The information was immediately passed on to airport police and a probe revealed that the threat was a hoax, police said.

The telephone call was traced to Pallikaranai area here and in a swift action a special team nabbed two persons– identified as Deepu Anand, who made the call, and his friend Sakthi Saravanan, within an hour.

During investigation, Anand claimed that Saravanan had taken money from him in return for a job at the airport but did not honour it.
19/03/18 PTI/India.com

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Gold bars worth Rs 1.22 crore recovered from Jet Airways toilet; passenger caught with Rs 7 lakh gold bars stashed in rectum

Mangaluru: Four gold bars worth Rs 1.22 crore were recovered from the toilet of an aircraft that arrived from Dubai, Customs sources said on Sunday.

The gold bars weighing 1 kilogram (kg) each were recovered from the toilet of a Jet Airways flight that arrived in Mangaluru at 7.55 am.
The gold bars were stashed in the toilet and left there to be picked up by a local mule during its domestic run to Mumbai, the sources said.

Officials also seized two gold biscuits worth Rs 7 lakh from a passenger who came by the same flight during passenger profiling, they said.

Customs officials spotted the man moving in a suspicious manner and intercepted him.
Following a search, they found two gold biscuits weighting 227 grams concealed in his rectum and the same was seized.
19/03/18 PTI/Deccan Chronicle

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Are IGI gun smuggling cases linked?

New Delhi: Two passengers were arrested at the IGI airport in two separate cases for allegedly trying to smuggle in pistol and air gun parts. The two incidents happened on March 14 and 15 and customs is trying to probe if they are connected.
A passenger was intercepted after he arrived from Bangkok. A detailed search of his bag found magnifier units, gun attachments and instruction manuals, among other sophisticated gun parts — all of which could be assembled to make a weapon, officials said.
18/03/18 Times

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AAI warns job aspirants to be vigilant against fraudsters

Trichy: Taking serious note of job aspirants falling prey to fake recruitment advertisements and agencies, Trichy airport director K Gunasekaran has appealed to the public, especially the youth, against making any payment for jobs at the airport in the name of application fee or caution deposit.
More than 25 victims have so far been allegedly cheated by scamsters who have been operating from north India. Gunasekaran said that he had been receiving complaints on a daily basis from people who were cheated by fraudulent gangs.
While addressing reporters in his chamber here on Saturday, he said that these fraudsters had charged Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 as application fee and Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh as caution deposit for various posts such as floor manager and housekeeping supervisor.
“It has been noticed that fraudulent recruitment advertisements and job offers are being made by some unscrupulous elements forging the Airport Authority of India’s (AAI) name and logo and have deceived (aspirants) with false promises of securing job in AAI Trichy. It is also noted that certain websites are showing AAI’s vacancies on their website. It is clarified that no website or agency has been authorised by AAI to either to show vacancies on their site or accept any application for recruitment,” he added. The Airport Authority of India only notifies vacancies or recruitment on AAI’s website, Employment News or Rojgar Samachar and leading newspapers.
18/03/18 Times of India

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Customs seize gold worth Rs 1.29 crore at MIA

Mangaluru: In one of the biggest seizure of contraband gold in a single day, customs officials recovered four gold bars weighing a kg each from the toilet of a flight that arrived at Mangaluru International Airport from Dubai on Saturday. The gold is worth Rs 1.22 crore.
The officials also recovered two gold biscuits worth Rs 7 lakh from another passenger who arrived in the same flight during passenger profiling leaving customs with a gold haul worth Rs 1.29 crore.
Sources told STOI that the gold bars were recovered from the toilet of Jet Airways flight 9W531 that arrived at MIA at 7.55am, 47 minutes behind schedule. “The gold bars were stashed in the toilet and kept there to be picked up by a local mule when the flight took off from MIA to Mumbai on its domestic run,” the source said.
The second haul came from thorough profiling of passengers at the arrival lounge of MIA, sources said. “Since two international flights operated by Jet Airways and SpiceJet arrived almost at the same time, the arrival hall was packed with 450-odd passengers,” the sources said, adding customs officials managed to spot a passenger who was acting nervously. He was picked up and subjected to thorough frisking using a metal detector. The passenger, a resident of Bhatkal admitted to stashing two gold biscuits weighting 227 grams in his rectum and the same was recovered from him and seized, sources said.
18/03/18 Times of India

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Indian banks broke rules to give loans to Kingfisher Airlines, says UK judge in Vijay Mallya hearing

London: The British judge hearing the extradition case of liquor baron Vijay Mallya today said that it was 'blindingly obvious' that rules were being broken by Indian banks which sanctioned some of the loans to the erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines.

Presiding over a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London, Judge Emma Arbuthnot directed the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), arguing on behalf of the Indian government, to provide a breakdown of where some of the emails and documentary evidence presented in the case came from.

The hearing today marked the effective end of oral arguments in the case, which will now return to the court on April 27 to consider the additional material sought by the judge and for closing submissions by Mallya's defence team.
The judge described the case as a 'jigsaw puzzle' with different pieces of 'massive evidence' to be put together to paint a picture, which she said she was now able to see "more clearly" than a few months ago.

"There are clear signs that the banks seem to have gone against their own guidelines [in sanctioning some of the loans]," she said, 'inviting' the Indian authorities to explain the case against some of the bank officials involved because that relates to the 'conspiracy' point against Mallya.

She also made the court aware of an 'unsolicited' email correspondence in Hindi received from India, a language she "unfortunately" is unfamiliar with.

In response, the defence team said all sides in the case had been at the receiving end of such unsolicited correspondence.

Mallya, who is on trial for the UK court to rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crores, watched the proceedings from the dock.
17/03/18 PTI/New Indian Express

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Gold capsules hidden inside dates instead of seeds seized at airport

Cylindrical shaped gold bars, hidden inside hollowed dates were seized at the Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) airport on Wednesday.

A customs officer told Hindustan Times that a passenger on Jet Airways flight 9W-509 was carrying a packet of dates. On offering a date, they found cylindrical shaped gold bars instead of seeds. 34 gold bars, weighing 350 grams were found.

This is the first time the customs officials have come across gold smuggled in dates. The caught passenger was not the only one and another smuggler was caught in the evening carrying 25 pieces of gold, weighing 259 gms.

Both the passengers weren't arrested as the value of the gold didn't exceed INR 20 lakh, reported the daily.
16/03/18 Khaleej Times

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Three held at airport on charge of theft

Kochi: The police on Thursday arrested three employees of a private customs house agency (CHA) at the Nedumbassery airport on the charge of stealing materials from export consignments.

The arrested are Sajad Syed Muhammed, 21, Aashik, 22, both natives of Kunnamkulam, and Sujil Sunder, 24, of Alangad near Aluva.

Acting on a complaint that cloth pieces in a consignment destined to Italy had gone missing, the authorities examined the CCTV visuals at the ground handling section and found the trio open the consignment. Following this, the police were alerted, and they were taken into custody.

According to the police, CHA staffers are authorised to open up consignments for inspection under certain circumstances like suspicion of the presence of banned items. The police are examining if the trio had committed similar offences earlier. “They are being interrogated to ascertain whether anyone else is involved,” officials said. The three were produced before a local court which remanded them in judicial custody.
16/03/18 The Hindu

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Customs seizes air gun parts at Delhi airport, 1 held

New Delhi: An Indian man was arrested at the Delhi airport by the Customs for allegedly trying to smuggle air gun parts into the county, according to an official statement issued today.

The man was intercepted after his arrival from Dubai yesterday.

A detailed search of his baggage and personal examination resulted in the seizure of an air gun barrel and air gun trigger action of Carl Walther make, three gun mounted scope and butt stock (plastic), the statement issued by the Customs said.

“The said parts can be converted into an air gun (5.5mm/0.22 bore),” it said.
16/03/18 PTI/India.com

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Air India official Twitter account restored, probe launched

National carrier Air India’s Twitter account was temporarily hacked by suspected Turkish hackers on Thursday morning. It has been restored now.

The cyber attack came to light after a series of tweets were posted in Turkish language on the official Twitter handle @airindiain, an Air India spokesperson said.

"This is to inform all passengers that the Air India official Twitter handle has been hacked. We are working with Twitter to get it back. All Air India Passengers please note that no flights have been cancelled as claimed in the Tweet," the spokesperson said.

“Last minute important announcement: All our flights have been cancelled. From now we will fly with Turkish Airlines,” read the tweet pinned to the official handle. The handle’s cover image was also changed to a photo of a Turkish Airlines plane.

All the malicious contents posted on the handle have been removed and the official handle has now been restored, he said.

They also retweeted the handle – AyyıldızTim several times. The national carrier’s Twitter handle was also changed from @airindiain to @airindiaTR for sometime.Twitter also removed the verified mark from the Air India handle after its name was changed by the hackers.
15/03/18 Ahmedabad Mirror

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68-year-old woman held for gold smuggling at Delhi airport

New Delhi: A 68-year-old Indian woman was arrested by the Customs at the Delhi airport for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country Rs 21 lakh worth of gold, according to an official statement issued on Thursday.
The accused was intercepted after her arrival from Dubai on Tuesday.
During her baggage search, eight gold kadas (bangles) and two gold chains, weighing 710 grams, were seized, the statement issued by the Customs said.
The passenger was arrested and the gold, valued at Rs 21.53 lakh seized, it said.
15/03/18 Tribune

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Man held for smuggling gold worth Rs 75 lakh at Delhi airport

New Delhi: An Indian man has been arrested by the customs for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing about Rs 75 lakh at Delhi airport, according to an official statement issued today.

The accused was intercepted on his arrival from Dubai on Sunday.

The passenger was carrying two bars and four sheets of gold, weighing 2.4 kg, having a market value of Rs 74.97 lakh, which he had hidden in the cavity of the flush assembly system of a toilet at the airport, the customs said in the statement.
13/03/18 PTI/India Today

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Man held with forex worth Rs 10 lakh at Delhi airport

New Delhi: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on Wednesday apprehended a passenger illegally carrying foreign currency worth Rs 10,97,620 at Indira Gandhi International Airport here.

The foreign currency in different denominations was seized at Terminal-3 of the airport during a pre-embarkation security check (frisking) when CISF Assistant Sub-Inspector Md. R. Hussain noticed some stuff under the clothes of the passenger which appeared to be suspicious, an official statement read.

Passenger Fahad Mohammad was then taken for pat-down search during which the foreign currency – Riyals, Euros, Dirhams, and Rupees – concealed under his clothes were recovered.
14/03/18 ANI/India.com

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Four busts at IGI airport: Gold smuggling, now in fruit drink mixture

New Delhi: For the last two months, 30-year-old Sahansha had been desperately looking for an opportunity to return to his village in Rajasthan from Riyadh. He had landed in Abu Dhabi with high hopes, but had soon realised that he had been cheated on the pretext of a job.

Then he got an offer: He would get Rs 8,000 and a ticket to India, but would have to carry along a packet with a powdered fruit drink mixture. In reality, though, the packet contained 695 grams of gold — in the form of granules. Clueless, he landed in Delhi — only to be apprehended by Customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday.

The seizure is one of four cases at IGI airport in the past month of gold granules being found inside such packets. “Gold granules mixed with fruit drink powder are hard to detect. Smugglers mix them in a way that it’s impossible to spot it with the naked eye. But customs officials segregate the two powders using sieves of different sizes, and detect it in an X-ray scanner,” a senior official said.

Customs officials told The Indian Express that Sahansha was detained soon after he landed. “He initially claimed he was a businessman and was travelling abroad to promote his business, but officials went on to frisk his belongings. The gold granules were detected in an X-ray scanner. He kept complaining they are wasting their time, but after a few minutes, gold granules started pouring out from an orange packet,” an official said.
13/03/18 Mahender Singh Manral/Indian Express

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Questions over Gupta role in SAA halting its flights to India

Johannesburg - Did the Guptas play a role in South African Airways (SAA) halting its flights to India, allowing Indian airline Jet Airways and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways to take over the bilateral arrangement between the two countries?
The SAA decision to suddenly shut down its Mumbai-Johannesburg route, which had a seat-load factor of 82% to 88%, in March 2015 intrigued the travel and tourism sector. SAA did not even give enough notice to tour operators who had booked flights until November 2015, tour operators say.

So why did SAA, in the name of streamlining its operation, abandon one of its routes that serviced the historical ties between India and South Africa? SAA claimed that the route was loss making, but industry sources say the seat-load factor tells another story.

According to an Indian foreign ministry source, the Guptas wanted to benefit Jet Airways.

It was Jet Airways from whom the Guptas chartered an aircraft to ferry guests from India to Johannesburg to attend a family wedding in 2013. That controversial event laid bare the Guptas' abuse of South African state facilities and infuriated South Africans.
After SAA withdrew from India, Jet Airways filled the slot. Now it carries passengers from India to Abu Dhabi and from there they are lifted by Etihad for their onward journey to South Africa.

Etihad bought a 24% stake in Jet Airways in late 2013 and has a code-sharing arrangement with SAA to fly the route.

By realigning these routes, alliance partners Etihad and Jet Airways have monopolised the India-South Africa route, which can only be challenged if SAA reclaims its bilateral arrangement with India, which seems unlikely.
11/03/18 IOL

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Courier jailed 18 months for stealing gold jewellery he was meant to take to India

Singapore: For a hawker stall helper, it was a golden opportunity to earn hundreds of dollars: Act as a courier by wearing more than $200,000 worth of jewellery on a flight to India.

But when 33-year-old Muhammad Hajali Sahul Hameed and his cousin got through passport checks at Changi Airport, they turned back, re-entered Singapore and sold off most of the gold chains they were meant to carry.

The Singaporean was sentenced to 18 months in jail on Monday (March 12) after he pleaded guilty to misappropriating the jewellery.

His cousin - store keeper and part-time delivery driver Abdul Aziz Abdul Hameed, 33 - and another alleged accomplice will appear in court on Thursday.

The court heard that in July last year, Muhammad Hajali agreed to help a casual acquaintance, who was a courier agent, carry out a one-time job by taking 16 gold chains and two gold bangles to a buyer in Mumbai. They were worth a total of $218,400.

The Singaporean was told that he would receive $600 in commission and that his flight and accommodation would be paid for by the buyer.

Muhammad Hajali agreed to take on the job with Abdul Aziz and they met the courier agent and seller of the jewellery at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on July 3. They were briefed on the assignment and each was given a black plastic bag filled with some of the jewellery.
According to court documents, the seller - Mr Kannaian Praksam, 43, an Indian national who is the director of Jothi's Gold Jewellery in Singapore - had instructed them to wear the gold bangles on their arms, the big gold chains around their waists, and place the small gold chains inside their pockets.

The duo were also told that upon arrival at Mumbai Airport, the buyer's representative would approach them.

Mr Praksam and the courier agent left after passing the two men $400 and watching them clear immigration. The remaining $200 was to be paid when they returned to Singapore.

However, the men did not board the plane and instead planned to sell the jewellery and share the earnings. They re-entered Singapore and paid $1,750 in tax after declaring the jewellery to Customs.

The next day, Muhammad Hajali asked his relative Muhamud Sidhik Shahul Hameed, 43, a private-hire car driver, to help sell the jewellery. He sold 14 small gold chains to two buyers for a total of $75,766, with the help of two middle men.

The proceeds were split. The middle men received $5,466, Muhamud Sidhik received $10,000 and Abdul Aziz pocketed $17,800.

Muhammad Hajali kept the remaining $42,500, and used some of it to pay off personal debts.

He and Abdul Aziz were arrested on July 5 after Mr Praksam made a police report when he discovered that the duo had not boarded the plane.
12/03/18 Tan Tam Mei/Straits Times

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CISF nabs 2 with 10 gold bars at Guwahati Airport

New Delhi: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has arrested two passengers, carrying 10 gold bars worth Rs 50 lakh at Guwahati Airport, sources said on Monday.
According to an official statement here, a CISF personnel noticed presence of metal in body cavity (rectum) of two passengers on Sunday morning, during pre-embarkation security check (frisking) at the Security Hold Area (SHA) of Guwahati Airport.

The accused, identified as Pappu Khan and Lakhveer Singh, were bound to travel from Guwahati to Delhi. They were taken to a separate place in SHA for thorough checking, where they disclosed that they were carrying gold bars concealed in their rectum (wrapped with balloon).
On checking, 10 gold bars weighing about 1.7 kg were recovered. Senior officers of CISF and Custom Officials were informed about the matter.
12/03/18 UNI

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