Air India staffers held for abetting gold smuggling at Kempegowda International Airport
BENGALURU: Two Air India employees — ground staff at Kempegowda International Airport — were nabbed on charges of abetting gold smuggling from the Gulf.
One of them, a 22-year-old woman, was caught on Wednesday while she was picking up smuggled gold paste worth Rs 40 lakh from two passengers. She was to hand over the paste to two gang members waiting outside the airport. All the suspects are from Malayamma in Kozhikode.
KIA officials said the gold smuggling nexus with Air India contract staff came to light after Emirates flight EK 564 from Dubai landed at KIA on Wednesday morning. A couple alighted from the flight with nearly 1kg of gold paste and before heading for Customs, met the woman AI staffer inside the terminal.
The trio admitted to the smuggling to an Air Intelligence Unit team and the AI woman employee said two men were waiting outside the airport to collect the paste. Customs sleuths in the guise of smugglers met the two near the parking area and apprehended them.
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