Smuggler-airport staff nexus busted for helping the passenger to take gold out of Chennai airport
Passengers land with 5.2 kg gold
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-08-23 05:11 GMT
Chennai: Investigators from Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) picked up an air passenger, who arrived from Sharjah with gold worth over Rs 1.05 crore and two employees of a private airlines for allegedly helping the passenger to take the gold out of Chennai airport without being detected on early Saturday morning.
Since January this year, DRI has detected at least two cases in which people working at Chennai airport have helped smugglers to take out the high value goods without being screened.
On Saturday morning the sleuths intercepted Akbar Basha, a passenger who arrived from Sharjah in Air Arabia flight and also nabbed two employees of a private Indian airline who helped him to carry the gold, weighing 4 kg and valued over Rs 1.05 crore, out of the airport without being screened.
“Akbar Basha before reaching immigration counter was to hand over the contraband, packed as mobile phone and tablets, at the aerobridge to the two security staff of the private airlines who have free access inside the airport. These people were supposed to carry the gold out without being detected. But our team intercepted them and caught them red handed,” a DRI
official said.
On Saturday morning, the DRI team also arrested another man with one kg gold which he was trying smuggle from Singapore. “Sultan Ibrahim, who arrived from Singapore, was found carrying 1.2 kg gold bars. We caught him before it was being handed over to airline employees,” DRI official said adding that the two arrested airline employees, aged 29 and 24, are being subjected to detailed examination.