A cabin crew member of the Air India Express has been arrested on the charge of attempting to smuggle 1,487 gms of gold in Kochi, said Customs Preventive Commissionerate, reported news agency ANI.
The accused, Shafi Sharaf, had arrived from Bahrain around 8.30 p.m. on Flight IX 474. His long-sleeve shirt covered the paste of gold that was wrapped around his forearms.
According to an official communication, he was transported to the Office of the Customs preventive wing around 10.20 p.m.
The cabin crew was of Bahrain-Kozhikode-Kochi service, said Commissionerate.
Kochi | Air India cabin crew Shafi, a native of Wayanad, was arrested at Kochi Airport for smuggling 1,487 gms of gold. The cabin crew was of Bahrain-Kozhikode-Kochi service. Further interrogation underway: Customs Preventive Commissionerate pic.twitter.com/1nxVzF2fA7
— ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2023
Photos shared by news agency ANI showed that the gold was taped to Shafi’s arms and concealed under his full-sleeved shirt.
Based on a tip, the Customs Preventive had conducted an inspection. A member of the crew was on a flight from Bahrain to Kozhikode and Kochi.
Meanwhile, gold bars worth Rs 3.32 crore were seized at Cochin International Airport, and two passengers, including a Sri Lankan, were arrested in connection with this, said customs department.
According to M. Mathew Jolly, principal commissioner of customs, the authorities on specific inputs intercepted two passengers who arrived from Singapore on Tuesday and retrieved 68 gold bars weighing 6.8 kilograms hidden in their baggage.
The gold that was retrieved from them was worth Rs 3.32 crore. He added that the pair had been taken into custody and that an investigation was underway.
At Nedumbassery, four men were arrested in January on charges of gold smuggling, including two Air India contract workers.
A flight attendant was detained at the Calicut International Airport last year with 1.25 kilograms of gold hidden in her shoes. During a smuggling attempt in 2021, an Air India Express air hostess was detained at Karipur.