Gold pieces worth 1.8cr found in plane toilet

Bengaluru: Pieces of gold worth Rs 1.8 crore hidden inside the toilet of an IndiGo plane that flew from Male, Maldives, to Bengaluru were unearthed by sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at Kempegowda International Airport.

The agency is now trying to track the passenger who smuggled in the gold and placed it in the toilet, possibly for an accomplice to retrieve.

Sources said the smuggling bid was foiled at KIA on October 7 evening after the flight touched down. Following specific information, the Bengaluru unit of DRI boarded the flight shortly after passengers disembarked and combed it. The sleuths soon found a packet pasted under the wash basin area of one of the toilets. In it were solid gold pieces weighing 3.2kg. Investigators suspect the gold was placed for another passenger, an accomplice, to board in Bengaluru when the flight turned to a domestic leg. A thorough probe is under way to check any possible role of the airline or airport staff, sources said.

In another operation at KIA on October 9, the DRI Bengaluru team arrested two men from Tamil Nadu who landed in an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi. They were smuggling in gold paste inside their rectum. After being nabbed by DRI, the youth handed over seven capsules containing a total of 2.8kg of gold, estimated to be worth Rs 1.2 crore in its present market value. Further probe is on to find out if they are part of an international racket.

16/10/2023 Petlee Peter/Times of India

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Bengaluru customs seize 2.3 kg gold worth over Rs 1.3 crore at Kempegowda airport in three days

Bengaluru: The Customs officials at the Kempegowda International Airport seized 598 grams of gold concealed inside a pasta maker. The passenger arrived in Bengaluru from Dubai on Indigo flight 6E-1486. Gold worth Rs 35,37,768 was concealed inside the rods of the pasta machine, according to the Customs officials.

Bengaluru Customs officials had seized 1.7 kg of gold and four Dell laptops from three separate passengers on October 12 and 13. The passengers arrived in Bengaluru from Singapore, Kuwait, and Colombo. The seized gold was worth Rs 1 crore and one passenger was arrested in connection with the seizure.

The passenger who arrived from Singapore concealed the gold inside shoes, trousers packet, and laptops. The seized laptops were worth Rs 1,19, 412. The passenger who arrived from Kuwait concealed 689 grams of gold in his rectum. Gold weighing 103.33 grams was concealed in the undergarments of the passenger who arrived from Colombo.

16/10/2023 Muralidhara Sampangishetty/news nine

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DRI sleuths bust gold smuggling racket, recover 6 kilos of gold worth ₹3 crore

Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), on Saturday, recovered 6 kg of gold in the form of bars and paste worth ₹3 crore in two separate cases.

According to officials, based on a tip-off, they recovered 3.2 kilos of gold bars fixed in the washroom of an Indigo flight from Malaysia.

The bars were supposed to be accessed by a domestic flyer of the gold smuggling ring, but before he could board the flight, the officials had accessed the washroom and recovered the bars worth ₹1.3 crore.

In another incident, the DRI officials caught two passengers who landed from Abu Dhabi trying to pass through security checks. The duo from Tamil Nadu had concealed 2.8 kg of gold paste in their rectums.

The duo worked as carriers for the gold smuggling racket, which is being probed, a senior official from the DRI said.

15/10/2023 The Hindu

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Delhi court issues non-bailable warrant against Nellore International Airport Limited MD

New Delhi: A Delhi court has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against Vankayalapati Umesh, the Managing Director (MD) of Nellore International Airport Limited (NIAL) due to his failure to appear in a cheque bounce case involving an amount of Rs 3 crore.

Metropolitan Magistrate Shikha Chahal of Saket Courts noted a lack of valid reason for Umesh's non-appearance.

The court observed that during the previous hearing, the accused had sought an adjournment to furnish bail bonds and engage a lawyer.

However, there was no justifiable cause for his absence during the recent hearing.

The court noted that the case is currently at the stage of bail bond verification and settlement.

As the parties involved have not reached a settlement, the case is proceeding on its merits.

The complainant company, ANS Construction Pvt. Ltd., alleged that Hyderabad-based NIAL had offered a Rs 100 crore contract to their Delhi-based company, taking Rs 3 crore as Earnest Money Deposit (EMD).

However, neither the contract was awarded nor was the EMD returned.

Subsequently, multiple cheques totaling Rs 3 crore were given to return the EMD but one of the cheques bounced.

The complainant's counsel Utkarsh Singh pointed out that despite being given time to settle the dispute, the accused did not approach for settlement nor did he appear before the court.

The court observed that the accused is well aware of the ongoing legal proceedings and appeared to be intentionally evading the process of law through his continued non-appearance.

14/10/2023 IANS/Daijiworld

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Two Bolivian nat'ls fly into city with ₹20cr cocaine, held

Mumbai: Two Bolivian nationals who smuggled 5kg cocaine worth Rs 20 crore hidden inside their shoes, jacket and innerwear were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

The duo had arrived from Sau Paula on Thursday, but by the time NCB team reached the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, they had left the airport. The agency then kept a watch and traced them to a hotel in Khetwadi. The agency carried out a search of their room and recovered cocaine. The two Bolivian women were later identified as Evelina Azogue (46) and Ilorca Gloria (36) - both native of South America.

"The drugs were concealed among non-suspicious items such as toothpaste, cosmetic tubes, soap and makeup kit, and were being carried in form of powder, liquid and paste, which could be easily planted among regular items. The total cocaine recovery weighed around 5kg," said Ghawate.

14/10/2023 S Ahmed Ali/Times of India

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Gold found stacked in pasta-making machine at Kempegowda International Airport

Bengaluru: Customs officials at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) seized gold weighing 598 grams worth Rs 35.37 lakh from a passenger who arrived from Dubai on Saturday.

Bengaluru Customs stated that the passenger travelled in Indigo Airline and landed at the Bengaluru airport. He was allegedly carrying gold concealed in a pasta-making machine.

The machine was placed inside his checked-in baggage. The officials found the rods of the pasta making machine suspicious and cut open them to find five small cylindrical rods of crude gold inside. The gold has been seized by the customs sleuths.

14/10/2023 Deccan Herald

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Mumbai airport customs destroys 3700 kgs of confiscated cigarettes

Mumbai: As a part of an ongoing special campaign disposal of seized goods is being expedited by the Mumbai airport customs to reclaim office space. In this regard, 3700 kgs of illegally imported Cigarettes, Tobacco and e-Cigarettes valued at Rs 2.80 crore were destroyed by the Mumbai airport customs on October 12.

These substances were seized and confiscated from passengers at the Mumbai airport. The said contraband which is smuggled into India in contravention of provisions of Customs Act,1962 and Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution Act, 2003 (COTPA, 2003), was seized and confiscated during the current financial year by the Mumbai airport Customs officials.

The goods were destroyed at the incinerator facility of Mumbai Waste Management Ltd Taloja, authorised by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).

14/10/2023 Manju V/Times of India

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Three African women held with cocaine worth Rs 5.68 cr at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has apprehended three African women at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai on allegations of smuggling cocaine valued at Rs 5.68 crore.

Their modus operandi involved concealing the illicit substance within sanitary napkins and ingesting it. This operation, spanning the past three days, was carried out by the DRI's Mumbai unit based on specific intelligence.

Among the arrested individuals were two Ugandan nationals who had the contraband hidden in sanitary napkins, while a Tanzanian woman had ingested capsules containing cocaine, according to an official statement.

The trio is now facing charges in accordance with the relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and has been placed in judicial custody.

13/10/2023 Times of India

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Kozhikode airport smuggling case: CISF official suspended

Thiruvananthapuram: A CISF official was placed under suspension on Thursday in connection with the Kozhikode international airport gold smuggling case, which allegedly involves top airport authorities.

Suspended Assistant Commandant Naveen Kumar had come under the Kerala Police radar, along with a customs official, both working inside the airport.

Malappuram SP S. Sujith Das-led special police team has been closely monitoring numerous reports on the rampant gold smuggling through the airport.

After gathering ample evidence to confirm that the gang had smuggled gold around 60 times, the police intensified its action.

Investigations revealed that the smuggling racket led by a Kozhikode resident named Rafeek even had access to the duty roster of the security and customs officials.

The probe team has also found that the gang was using a closed user group SIM.

In the past also, Kerala Police had rounded up officials engaged in aiding smugglers.

12/10/2023 IANS/Daijiworld

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Surge in individuals caught travelling with fake papers via Kochi airport

Kochi: After a brief lull, there has been a recent resurgence in cases involving individuals from other states attempting to move abroad via Kochi airport using counterfeit documents. Over the past month alone, the Bureau of Immigration (BoI) intercepted four such individuals.

Last year, numerous instances came to light where women from rural areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh were sent to Gulf countries for domestic work using fraudulent documents, including passports. Following this, the number of such cases dropped. In recent months, however, BoI intercepted two individuals from Tamil Nadu, one from Haryana, and one from Uttar Pradesh at the airport’s immigration checkpoint.

“The individuals apprehended while attempting to travel abroad for employment without proper documentation are, in fact, victims of unscrupulous agents. Rather than departing from their native states, these individuals opt for airports in Kerala on the expectation that they can navigate immigration procedures smoothly. They have paid agents money, believing their claim that all necessary travel arrangements would be handled at the airport. When individuals coming through these agents are consistently caught at one airport, they tend to switch to other airports for their illegal activities,” a BoI officer told TNIE.

12/1-0/2023 New Indian Express

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Malayalam film actor alleges harassment onboard Air India flight, police complaint lodged

Kochi: A Malayalam film actor has alleged harassment by a male co-passenger on an Air India flight from Mumbai to Kochi on Tuesday. The Nedumbassery police have registered a case based on the complaint filed by actor Divya Prabha via email and a probe is on. 

The incident occurred just before takeoff on Air India flight AI 681, according to the actress. “The incident involved a passenger seated in 12C who, under the influence of alcohol, switched his seat to 12B with me (12A) and initiated an argument with no logical basis regarding the seat’s location. He was leaning into my seat, making unwarranted contact.

Despite my repeated requests for him to sit properly, he did not comply. I reported the matter to the air hostess, and instead of relocating him, they requested that I change my seat. I found this airline’s response to be unjust. The person who caused the disturbance was left to sit comfortably in his own seat,” Divya Prabha told TNIE, describing the incident as traumatic.

The actor filed a detailed FIR with the Nedumbassery police on Wednesday. “After landing, I reported the issue to the airport staff of Air India, who directed me to seek assistance from police aid. I filed my complaint via email as a formal complaint,” she added.

Meanwhile, an airline spokesperson said, “Air India won’t be able to make any statement at this time, as the matter is under police investigation. The airline will fully cooperate with the investigation.”

12/10/2023 New Indian Express

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Man molests 40-year-old woman on Pune-Nagpur flight, arrested

Nagpur: A 32-year-old man was arrested by police on Tuesday for allegedly molesting a woman co-passenger on a Pune-Nagpur flight of a private airline, an official said.

The alleged incident took place on Monday, he said.

The accused was identified as Feroze Shaikh, a resident of the Kondhwa area of Pune, who is an engineer by profession.

The 40-year-old woman complainant, a resident of Chandrapur, was on her way to Nagpur to perform the last rites of her father, the official of Sonegaon police station said.

The accused allegedly made unwanted advances towards her after the plane landed at Nagpur airport.

A Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) jawan who was on board intervened and restrained Shaikh before reporting the incident to police, the official said.

11/10/2023 PTI/India Today

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Flyer detained at Hyderabad airport after warning about ‘hijacking’

Authorities at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad went on high alert late Sunday evening following a threat message received via email, which claimed that a passenger on an Air India flight was a potential hijacker.

The message, sent from an unknown email address, raised concerns about the safety of Flight AI951 bound for Dubai.

Around 7 PM on October 8, airport duty personnel received an email with a warning to “be careful” of a flyer who was allegedly an informer for Pakistani spy agency ISI, and was planning to hijack Flight AI951. The email also warned that “many people” at Hyderabad airport were “involved” with the individual.

Airport security sprang into action, identified the passenger mentioned in the email and apprehended him. He was immediately escorted to an isolation bay along with his hand baggage.

Flight AI951, which was scheduled to depart for Dubai, was directed to a separate isolation bay as a precautionary measure while the situation was assessed.

09/10/2023 Abdul Basheer/India Today

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Naresh Goyal was uncooperative, slowed investigation: ED to Bombay High Court

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has told the Bombay High Court that it arrested Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal as he had been uncooperative, which in turn slowed the pace of the investigation being conducted by the agency in the money laundering case filed against him.

The agency made the submission in an affidavit, which added that Goyal's attempt at non-cooperation proved his malafide intention to defraud banks.

"Goyal was highly uncooperative, recalcitrant, evasive and suspicious in his statements and conducts and therefore the arrest was made in order to proceed the investigation and trace the trail of the proceeds of crime. His deliberate attempt to non-cooperation and non-submission of documents/ information proved that the loan amounts were embezzled and siphoned off in a piecemeal manner with malafide intention to defraud the banks. Non-cooperation of accused with the investigation had slowed the pace of investigation being conducted by this directorate," the affidavit stated.

The agency filed the affidavit to oppose the habeas corpus writ petition filed by Goyal challenging his arrest.

Goyal was arrested by the ED on September 1 in a case where Goyal had been accused of cheating and misappropriating funds allegedly causing a wrongful loss of ₹538 crores to the Canara Bank.

Goyal claimed in his petition that the orders placing him under ED custody first and judicial custody subsequently were without any application of mind.

Goyal submitted that ED failed to make out any grounds for arrest and that there could have been no reasonable belief on the part of the ED to believe he committed money laundering.

The ED highlighted in its affidavit that the memo of the arrest was duly prepared had been signed by the authorised persons. The grounds for Goyal's arrest had been duly informed and furnished to him and his wife, the ED added.

09/10/2023 Neha Joshi/Bar and Bench

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Customs officials at Mangaluru airport seize Rs 20 lac worth gold hidden in kheer mix packets

Mangaluru: Custom officials at the international airport in the city confiscated Rs 20 lac worth gold that was being smuggled in kheer mix packets from a passenger who arrived from Dubai.

The confiscated gold weighs 347 grams and is of 24 carat purity. The estimated cost of this gold is Rs 20 lac.

The passenger arrived on Air India Express flight from Dubai on Friday to the international airport in the city. In his bag there were five packets of kheer mix of Kitchen Treasures brand. Custom officials got suspicion and opened the packets and found gold hidden in them.

09/10/2023 Daijiworld

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Why you should be extra careful with your luggage at Delhi airport

In a shocking incident at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, a passenger fell victim to a baggage theft racket. As per a TOI report, the victim, a woman traveling from Melbourne to Tarn Taran in Punjab, realized her gold ornaments were missing upon reaching home. The incident shed light on a carefully orchestrated theft operation involving airport loaders. The police swiftly apprehended six loaders associated with Air India and Vistara airlines, with a seventh person identified as the the receiver of the stolen items.

Devesh Kumar Mahla, DCP (IGIA), told TOI, "Six loaders have been arrested while the seventh person is the receiver of the stolen items. The loaders work with Air India and Vistara airlines." The stolen items recovered from the suspects included 15 pieces of jewelry, a De Grisogono luxury watch, two Apple Air Pods, a pair of expensive sunglasses, and currency notes from five different countries.

The crime came to light when the victim, Paramjeet Kaur, recounted her experience on September 16, after arriving in Delhi from Melbourne en route to Amritsar. Kaur sensed her wheelchair assistant's suspicious behavior but only understood why when her jewelry vanished upon reaching home.

Following Kaur's complaint, the police initiated a thorough investigation, scrutinizing CCTV footage and questioning the loaders who were on duty that day. "We obtained a video from the phone of one of the loaders, in which another loader is seen admitting that the stolen jewelry was fake," said Mahla.

09/10/2023 Economic Times

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'Hijack' Threat! Hyderabad Airport Receives Email Targeting Dubai-Bound Air India Flight

Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGI) in Hyderabad was subjected to a concerning security incident when authorities received a hoax flight hijack threat email. Police and airport officials promptly responded to the situation, ensuring the safety of passengers and investigating the matter thoroughly.

According to the local police, an email was received by the Airport Operations Control Center (AOCC) alleging that a passenger planned to hijack a flight travelling from Air India in Hyderabad to Dubai.

Airport authorities conducted a thorough verification process and determined that the threat was unsubstantiated. Nevertheless, a case has been officially registered, and a comprehensive investigation is currently underway to trace the source of the hoax threat.

Inspector R Srinivas of the RGI Police Station commented on the situation, stating, "A mail has been received by an Airport authority AOCC alleging that one passenger is going to Hijack on a flight travelling from Air India Hyderabad to Dubai. we have verified it and it's not correct anyhow we have registered a case and its investigation is on".

"Action will be taken on the person who has sent the mail and that is being investigated. All the passengers were off-loaded checked and sent on a different flight. As a precautionary measure, all passengers scheduled to board the flight in question were off-loaded, thoroughly screened, and subsequently accommodated on a different flight", added Srinivas.

The airport authorities, along with law enforcement agencies, worked swiftly to ensure the safety and security of all passengers and the airport premises.

09/10/2023 ANI/ZeeNews

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Three flyers held at Hyderabad airport after receiving a hoax mail on ‘plane hijacking’

The Cyberabad police are currently probing an email that warned Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) of a ‘hijack plan’, that led to panic on the ground on Sunday evening. According to police, the email mentioned a passenger on a Dubai-bound aircraft who could be a “hijacker”.

On Sunday, the IA-951 was scheduled to fly to Dubai at 8 pm from Hyderabad. Eventually, the aircraft was isolated and cancelled, according to the officials. All 111 passengers were deboarded and were screened by the airport security officials for possible suspects. Also, a few passengers were asked to stay back for questioning.

A senior official from Cyberabad police told indianexpress.com, “The airport terminal manager received an email from an unknown address at around 7 p.m. stating that the Dubai-bound Indian Airlines flight would be hijacked. We received a complaint and registered an FIR. The investigation is in progress and we will nab the people behind this hoax email.”

According to the complaint received by the Cyberabad police, the email mentioned the name of a passenger who is an informant to the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency of Pakistan and it also mentioned that the said passenger had local support from Hyderabad airport.

The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee inquired and a due procedure was followed. Following their probe, three passengers were handed over to the police by the airport officials.

09/10/2023  Rahul V Pisharody/Indian Express

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Man held at Delhi airport for misbehaving with passengers, damaging Cairo flight chairs

New Delhi: An Indian man who allegedly damaged some chairs onboard an Egypt Air flight and quarrelled with some co-passengers was apprehended at the IGI Airport here, official sources said on Monday.

The incident was reported on Sunday after flight MS-975 (Cairo to Delhi) landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport around 8.30 am.

The official sources told PTI that the pilots informed the air traffic control (ATC) at the Delhi airport about the “unruly” passenger onboard and he was taken into custody by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel soon after the flight landed.

The Indian passenger was later handed over to the Delhi Police for further investigation, they said. 

09/10/2023 PTI/Print

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Gold worth Rs 1 crore seized from Trichy airport

Trichy: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU), Trichy seized gold worth Rs 1,08,10,800 extracted from paste-like materials concealed in shoes and underwear worn by children of a male passenger.

Two large pieces of gold having a purity of 24 karats, weighing 1022 grams and 850 grams respectively valued at Rs 1,08,10,800 were extracted from paste-like materials concealed in shoes and underwear worn by children of a male passenger, a release said.

The passengers arrived at Trichy Airport from Kuala Lumpur on an Air Asia flight (AK-29) on Friday, it added.

In another case, an Indian passenger from Kuala Lumpur carrying undeclared gold weighing 1.06 kg valued at Rupees 61 lakhs was arrested at Trichy airport. The gold has been seized and the investigation is going on.

08/10/2023 FirstIndia

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