A total of three persons including two Air India SATS employees were arrested by customs officials for allegedly smuggling gold worth around INR7.3 million ($100,000).
Following the gold smuggling case, a passenger was detained for interrogation after his arrival from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on November 23, 2020, local media Jagran reported.
“During interrogation, he admitted that he had carried two silver-coloured packets of chemical paste containing approximately 1.48 kg gold and hid the same in lavatory of the aircraft (he had come in),” said the statement issued by the Customs Department on November 24, 2020.
Detailing the case, the statement said one of Air India SATS employees was intercepted while handing over the gold packets to another Air India SATS employee.
During the investigation, the detained passenger admitted to smuggling gold during his previous three flights.
AeroTime reached out to Air India and Delhi Customs for comment and did not receive any answer at the time of publication.
Air India SATS (AI SATS)
Air India SATS is a joint venture between Air India and Singapore Airport Terminal Services, originally founded in 2010. AI SATS was formed with the objective to provide airport services such as ground and cargo handling in order to attract more airlines to India.