Man tries to smuggle Rs 20 lakh gold in turban at Jaipur airport, detained

Jaipur: The customs department at Jaipur International Airport caught a man trying to smuggle 673 grams of gold, approximately worth Rs 20 lakh, inside his turban. The man was on a flight from Bangkok.

In the first quarter of the year itself, the customs department at Jaipur Airport has seized over three kg of gold being carried into the country illegally. Most of these seizures have been made from passengers travelling from Dubai and Thailand.

The man detained has been identified as 40-year-old Sandeep Singh, who is a resident of New Delhi. He had allegedly hidden the gold in his turban and according to sources, the customs department had a tip-off about Singh smuggling the metal.
31/03/19 Times of India

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Youths duped on the pretext of job at airport

Ahmedabad: An unidentified suspect was booked recently for duping youths on the pretext of imparting them job training followed by a placement at the airport.

Carrying out a preliminary probe into the complaint lodged by one of the victims, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) forwarded the case to Satara area police station, following which an offence for cheating and criminal breach of trust was registered.


Investigation officer and PSI Sagar Kote said that the suspect had floated an advertisement in some of the local dailies, claiming about job openings under the Airport Authorities of India.

A few youths who were looking for a job contacted the given number, following which the suspect called them to the city. During the interaction, the suspect informed them that they will have to undergo a training before being recruited by the airport authority.

31/03/19 Times of India

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Thevar outfit chief, 7 others arrested in Madurai for raising slogans inside aircraft

Eight people from All India Forward Bloc, including the President of the former Bharatiya Forward Bloc, KA Murugan, were arrested in Madurai Airport on Saturday for raising slogans inside a flight. According to reports, the incident happened on an IndiGo flight from Chennai to Madurai. As the descent was announced, Murugan and a few others got up from their seats and started raising slogans. They were demanding that the Madurai airport be renamed after Muthuramalinga Thevar. Despite multiple requests from the flight crew, the group did not lower their voices. Hence the crew intimated the airport about it and the men were arrested after the flight landed in Madurai.
Confirming the arrest, a police officer from Perungudi police station in Madurai told TNM that an FIR has been registered against eight men under sections 147 (Punishment for rioting), 290 (Public nuisance), 341 (Wrongful restraint), 342 (Wrongful confinement), 153A (doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 505(1)(b) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility) of the IPC. The police officer said that the accused were part of All India Forward Bloc.

Bharatiya Forward Bloc was a political party in Tamil Nadu which merged with the All India Forward Bloc before the 2006 elections, and KA Murugan and the other arrested men were all part of Bharatiya Forward Bloc.
31/03/19 News Minute

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Deepak Talwar money laundering case: ED attaches Delhi hotel worth ₹120 crore

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached property Hotel Holiday Inn located in Aerocity, New Delhi valued at close to Rs 120.20 crore. The agency is investigating a money laundering case against accused Deepak Talwar, his family members and related entities.

ED investigations revealed that Talwar illegally engaged in liasoning and lobbying with politicians, ministers, other public servants and officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation for airlines such as Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways for securing undue benefits for them.

“Investigation under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was initiated by ED in August 2017 on the basis of FIR registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation, NACIL, Air India and unknown private persons. He illegally managed to secure favourable traffic rights for these airlines during 2008-09 at the cost of National carrier, Air India,” an ED press note said.

In lieu of this, these Airlines made payments to the tune of Rs 272 crore to Deepak Talwar during 2008-09. The press note further said, “Talwar created a web of entities owned by him and his family members in India and international offshore havens, to launder Proceeds of Crime of Rs 272 crore received from foreign airlines.”
30/03/19 Business Line

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Indian arrested with ‘ice’ concealed inside sarees

An Indian national has been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake for attempting to smuggle in crystal methamphetamine, also known as ‘ice’, estimated to be worth around Rs 2 million.

The suspect, a 45-year-old businessman from Tamil Nadu, had arrived in the country from Chennai at around 1.40 a.m. today on board a SpiceJet flight.

The passenger was detained in the Green Channel of the airport while around 200 grams of crystal meth was found cleverly concealed within a stock of wedding sarees in his luggage, by the customs officers at the airport.
30/03/19 Adaderana.lk

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Vasco man arrested by airport cops

Vasco: Dabolim airport police on Thursday evening arrested a Vasco resident for attempting to smuggle a petroleum product from the cargo gate of the airport.
Bharat Nagesh N, 39, had arrived in a goods carrier vehicle with 11 barrels of a petroleum product.
Nagesh was transporting 10 barrels, each containing 60 litres of petroleum product and one barrel that had 35 litres. A total of 635 litres of the petroleum product was seized along with the goods carrier. The product, which officials suspect is diesel, will be sent for testing.
The accused was arrested on Thursday and later released on bail. Sources said that the product must have been used for vehicles that are used inside at the runway. A case under Section 285, 336 of the IPC has been registered.
30/03/19 Times of India

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Two arrested for smuggling gold worth over Rs 1 cr at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Two persons have been arrested by customs officials at the Delhi airport for allegedly trying to smuggle gold valued at Rs 1.66 crore, officials said Friday.

The seizure was effected in separate incidents reported in the past three days.

A man was intercepted after his arrival from Ahmedabad Wednesday.

A detailed personal and baggage search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of three large gold rings total weighing 4.3 kg, a statement issued by the customs department said.

On enquiry, it was found that the gold was illegally smuggled into India from Dubai and was being further brought from Ahmedabad to Delhi by the passenger, it said.

The gold, valued at Rs 1.4 crore, has been seized and the passenger was arrested.
29/03/19 PTI/Outlook

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Rs 94L gold seized from passenger at airport

Mohali: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recovered 2.98 kg of gold, estimated to be worth Rs 94 lakh, that was being smuggled in by a resident of Amritsar at the Chandigarh international airport here today.

The passenger, Malkeet Singh, arrived from Dubai on an IndiGo flight that landed here in the morning. He was proceeding through the green channel without making any declaration before customs officials when he was intercepted by DRI officials on a tip-off. It was a joint operation with the Mohali police.

According to sources, the passenger was carrying 15 large door latches. While the body of the latches was made of conventional metal, the inner sliders were made of gold. The latches were kept in his checked-in luggage.
27/03/19 Tribune

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Charge sheet against Deepak Talwar before April 1: ED tells Delhi court

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it will file a charge sheet against corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar before April 1 in connection with the money laundering case against him.
"Before April 1, we will file a charge sheet against Deepak Talwar for his role in causing loss to Indian Air carrier Air India by giving its profitable route to the private airlines," ED's counsel Special Public Prosecutor DP Singh told the division bench of the High Court comprising Justices Hima Kohli and Vinod Goel.
The court was hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by Talwar's counsels Vikram Choudhary and Tanseem Ahmad Mir alleging illegal detention of their client.
This will be the first charge sheet against Talwar since he was extradited to India from Dubai.
Talwar, who was extradited to India from Dubai along with the businessman Rajeev Saxena on January 30, is currently under ED's custody. He has been accused of facilitating dispersal of profit making routes of Air India to private airlines using his contacts.
27/03/19 ANI/Business Standard

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Bangla man flying to Dubai on Indian passport caught

Immigration oicials at the Kempegowda International Airport caught a Bangladeshi national trying to fly to Dubai on an Indian passport on March 24. Tapas Chandra Das was arrested during the immigration check as oicials found discrepancies in his travel record. He later confessed that he hails from Chittagong, Bangladesh, and had come to India along with his mother through the porous border in 2001.
He was booked under the Passport Act and the Foreigners’ Act. Das initially lived in Tripura, waiting tables at a restaurant. He managed to get Aadhaar and election cards and even a birth certificate. He later got a passport from the Regional Passport Oice, Kolkata, and tried to travel to the UAE in 2017 on a work visa. But immigration oicials at Dubai deported him to Lucknow from where he had boarded the flight. He then went to Bangladesh but came back to India and got a visit visa to Dubai in Kolkata.
 27/03/19 Bellie Thomas/Deccan Herald

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Man booked for making bomb threat at Mumbai airport

Australia based NRI has been booked by the Sahar police for allegedly making a bomb threat call at Mumbai international airport during the wee hours of Tuesday.

The accused identified as Sanjay Korad stays in Australia with his mother Vasanti Korad (56) and his 5 year-old child. The duo were scheduled to fly with Singapore Airlines (SIA) SQ423 from Mumbai to Singapore on Monday late evening.

The plane, a Boeing 777-300ER, had departed Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at 11.36pm, but on the same night, Vasanti had some issues with their Visa and after speaking to one of staff at the  Airport, she was questioned by the officials and later she called Sanjay in Australia and connected him to the airport officer who spoke  to him on the phone and  asked him to send required documents on whatsapp, which he sent it to him after discussion and they boarded the flight which departed on time.

An officer from Sahar police station said " The accused thought that the airport staff unnecessary harassing his mother and child, so they might miss the flight. He then made a bomb threat call at the airport to delay the flight  and also sent an sms on the whats app number of airport officer whom he had discussed about the documents. He was unaware that flight already took off on time."

"The case under section 505,506 and 507 of IPC has been registered against him and the further investigation in the matter is underway,” the officer added.
27/03/19 Dhananjay Khatri/DNA

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Man Held for Watching Porn Besides Inflight Female Passenger in India

New Delhi:  A businessman hailing from India's financial capital, Mumbai, was held by the police for watching porn in plain sight of a woman who was sitting next to him, reported media outlet TimesNowNews.
The incident took place on Saturday during a Mumbai-Chennai flight that took off from Mumbai at 10:55 pm.
The lady sitting next to the culprit had a child with her. On seeing that the man was watching porn on his smartphone making his act visible to other co-passengers, she complained to the cabin crew.
When the crew asked the man to shift to a different seat he flatly refused. They then got the woman with her child shifted to a different seat when the flight captain took the onus on himself to resolve the issue.
The flight captain informed security personnel at the destination airport of Chennai. The man was held by the airport security and handed over to the police.

As the woman refused to file charges against the Mumbai-based businessman, the police let the man go free after giving him a strict warning.
23/06/19 Sputnik

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Complaint against my wife is highly politically motivated: TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee

Kolkata: Describing the allegations that his wife Rujira Narula was caught at the Kolkata airport for carrying gold in her check-in baggage as "baseless", Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee said on Sunday that the complaint filed by the Customs authorities alleging interference and obstruction by the local police was drafted in Delhi and was "highly politically motivated".

The Lok Sabha member from Diamond Harbour held a marathon presser on Sunday where he declared that he was "open to any form of investigation" to unearth the truth.

Challenging the Customs authorities to prove that his wife was carrying even two grams of gold when she reached the Kolkata airport from Bangkok on the intervening night of March 15 and 16, Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, said that he would quit politics if there was any wrongdoing on his wife's part.

In an aggressive tone, Banerjee repeatedly used the word "I challenge" as he targeted the Customs authorities, the opposition and some right wing portals carrying the reports of the incident.

He also threatened to slap criminal and civil defamation suits against some opposition leaders tweeting on the issue.
24/03/19 IANS/India Today

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Gold paste seized at Shamshabad airport

A scuffle after ‘safely’ coming out of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in the city landed a passenger in trouble after the police checked his bag and found gold in the form of paste.

The passenger, Manikyam, who arrived at the Hyderabad airport here from Malaysia by Air Asia flight number AK 69, entered into an argument with another passenger after coming out of the airport lounge.

RGIA sub-inspector Srisailam intervened to resolve the issue. “When subjected to thorough checking, we found two packets of brown paste in his baggage. The passenger told us that it was imported face wash,” an officer said.

On suspicion, the passenger was handed over to customs officials, who later said that the passenger was carrying 340 grams of gold in the form of paste.

In another case, the customs officials arrested a passenger who arrived at RGIA from Dubai by Indigo flight number 6E-025 and recovered a silver-coated gold plate from his possession. The passenger concealed the yellow metal weighing 219 grams worth ₹7.05 lakh in a travel cooker.
25/03/19 The Hindu

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Man, woman held for smuggling gold worth Rs 31.57 lakh at Delhi airport

New Delhi: A man and a woman have been arrested at the Delhi airport by Customs officials for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing around Rs 31.57 lakh.

The duo, said to be relatives, were intercepted upon their arrival from Dubai on Sunday, a statement issued by the customs department said.

A baggage search of the passengers resulted in the recovery of gold in paste form and four gold bangles, total weighing 982 grams, it said.
25/03/19 Outlook

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Viper, other animals seized at airport; one person detained

A horned pit viper, Egyptian tortoises, green tree frogs and other reptiles were seized at Chennai airport on Monday and one person was detained.

The viper is an African venomous snake and no anti-venom is available in India as yet, according to a press release.

Mohammad Abdul Majeed, a 22-year-old student from Chennai, had returned from Bangkok. Based on intelligence, the officials were screening passengers and suspected him of carrying banned substances.

When his bag was checked, officials found nine plastic containers, chocolates, gift items and clothing. When they opened the containers, they found a horned pit viper, two rhinoceros iguana (a threatened species of lizard), three rock iguana (also a lizard), 22 Egyptian tortoises, four blue-tongued skinks and three green tree frogs.
26/03/19 The Hindu

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"2 kg Gold" Row At Airport Lands Trinamool Leader's Wife In Trouble

Kolkata: Reports of two kilos of gold allegedly seized by the Customs Department from the wife of Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday led to two separate press meets that painted completely contradictory pictures of what happened and hit a new low in politics.
Abhishek Banerjee claimed that his wife was not even carrying two grams of gold when she flew into Kolkata on the intervening night of March 15 and 16 from Thailand. "I will leave politics if anyone can prove she had any dutiable gold or goods on her," he said. "Also, see if you can prove if she had sought and was given any VIP treatment at the airport."

The Trinamool leader said his wife had gone to Thailand for medical treatment. "After 75 minutes of harassment by the customs, she spoke to my assistant who made some phone calls. A lady police officer came to help my wife in case she fell ill during the incident," he added.

Rujira Banerjee has claimed in an FIR that customs official harassed her, and demanded Rs. 50,000.

Abhishek Banerjee said that his wife was targeted because she was connected to a political family. "They are attacking my family because they cannot fight me politically," he added.

At a press conference held earlier, BJP parliamentarian Swapan Dasgupta and former Trinamool leader Mukul Roy raised questions about the Thai passport belonging to Mrs Banerjee and wondered if she held two such documents - which is illegal. However, Abhishek Banerjee said that as his wife is a Thai national born and brought up in that country and holds a Person of Indian Origin card, there is nothing illegal about it.

Initial reports aired by some news portals about 2 kg gold being seized from her were not mentioned at the BJP press meet. There was no mention of any such seizure in the complaint filed by the Customs Department either.


Why did it take customs officials a whole week to file its complaint? There was no clear answer to that. But the customs complaint was drafted by top brass and sent to the officer in Kolkata to file. Manish Chandra, the Customs Commissioner in Kolkata, says so in the cover letter he sent to his assistant commissioner at the Kolkata airport with the draft of the complaint to be filed.

The letter is also marked "secret".
"This is as per CBIC department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi," Mr Chandra wrote.
The CBIC is the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs. Why the Ministry of Finance should be interested in this case, where there has been no seizure of illegal gold or cash is not clear.

At the BJP press meet, party leaders tried to make a case for a confrontation between the West Bengal police and the customs department like the confrontation between the Kolkata police and the CBI in February - when the probe agency wanted to question then Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajeev Kumar.
24/03/19 Monideepa Banerjie/NDTV

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Man robbed of wallet at Jaipur airport

Jaipur: A passenger travelling from Dubai was allegedly robbed when his luggage was being scanned at the Jaipur Airport. The airport authorities were unable to find his wallet in spite of the presence of many security personnel there.
The passenger had come by an Air Arabia flight and has filed a complaint with the city’s Sanganer police station. The complainant, Anurag Agarwal, a resident of Jaipur landed at the Jaipur International Airport at 4pm on Sunday and during scanning was robbed of his wallet.
 “The passenger was going through the immigration process on landing back in the country. Due to this he emptied out his pockets and placed the items in a tray for scanning. After going through body scanning, when he reached the other end, he found that although his mobile and passport were still in the tray, his wallet was missing. No one was able to find it at the airport,” said an official of Sanganer police station.
 The wallet, according to the complaint contained over Rs 10,000 in cash, identification cards as well as credit and debit cards of various banks. “We are investigating the alleged theft and ascertaining if someone picked up Agarwal’s wallet by mistake or intentionally. Although there are CCTV cameras at the airport, we are yet to see any footage..,” added the official.
 24/03/19 Times of India

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Kyrgyszstani national with Indian passport held

Bengaluru: A 34-year-old Kyrgyszstani national, who was deported from India for violating her visa conditions last year, managed to come back to the country and obtain Indian passport and documentations of a Indian citizen.

Narina Dokturbekova was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport on Thursday when she attempted to take a flight to Nepal from the city. At the immigration counter, she presented an Indian passport, which raised officials’ eyebrows.

Officials told the BIAL police in their complaint that Narina had come to the city on a business visa in 2017, and was illegally working in the marketing division at an adhesives manufacturing company. In November 2018, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office got wind of this, and deported her. While she was supposed to go from Delhi to her home country, Narina instead made her way to Nepal in December and managed to cross the border, and came back to Bengaluru.
During this time, she managed to illegally obtain an Indian passport, Aadhar card, and PAN, despite being a Kyrgyszstan citizen, said the police. BIAL police have filed cases under Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport Act, 1967 against her and are investigating how she got the documents.
24/03/19 The Hindu

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Bengaluru: Two smuggle drugs worth Rs 55 lakh on flight to Doha; cocaine, hashish seized

Bengaluru: Bengaluru: A shocking case recently surfaced in Bengaluru when the police arrested two people for allegedly smuggling drugs. The accused were caught with contraband worth Rs 55 lakh. The incident took place at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Saturday.

The accused were boarding a flight to Doha when they were arrested. The police found 965 grams of amphetamine, 30 grams of cocaine and 4.525 kilograms of hashish with the accused.

The accused were allegedly carrying the contraband in a quilt and in two tiffin boxes. According to the Times of India's report, the police acted on a tip-off they received regarding drugs being smuggled. The two accused were caught at the security check area. The officials grew suspicious with the answers that the accused gave, following this, their bags were inspected.

One of the accused has been identified as Noushad Mannakkamvalli and is from Kerala while the other has been identified as Muhammed Nousheer from Karnataka. The Narcotics Control Bureau, Bangalore Zonal Unit intercepted the accused.

It was also alleged that the Amphetamine and cocaine  were kept inside a quilt while the hashish had been carefully packed in two tiffin boxes. The quilt and the tiffins were being carried in two backpacks. The accused were allegedly trying to carry the contraband to Doha. The accused were to take a flight by Oman Airways.
24/03/19 MirrorNowNews.com

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