Air India crew member, catering staff held for smuggling gold worth Rs 72.46 lakh: Customs
New Delhi, Dec 7: An Air India crew member and a catering staff were arrested by the customs officials for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing about Rs 72.46 lakh at the Indira Gandhi International airport here, an official statement said on Monday.
The crew, who had come in a flight from London on Sunday, after seeing the customs officers had secreted the gold in the overhead bin of the aircraft, it said.
The officers later apprehended the staff of the catering company - M/s Ambassador Sky Chef - and based on the discussion between the above said crew of Air India and staff of the catering company recovered four kadas' of gold coated with silver colour from the aircraft on the identification of the crew, the statement issued by the customs said.
The total weight of the recovered gold is 1.667 kg, having tariff value of Rs 72.47 lakh, it said.
The gold was seized and both the accused were arrested, according to the statement.
Further, both the above said persons admitted their role in smuggling of 1.5 kg of gold on December 3, 2020 from London into India, it said.
Thus, these two persons were directly or indirectly involved in the smuggling of gold to the tune of 3.11 kg (1.5 kg on December 3 and 1.667 kg on Sunday), the statement added.
Delhi Airport Customs based on intelligence intercepted a Air India Crew & 1 catering staff regarding Flight AI162 arriving from London on Dec.6 & seized 1667 gms gold valued at Rs.72.47 lakhs in the form of 4 silver coated crudely shaped kadas. Detailed press release attached. pic.twitter.com/2WX0GwZ6NF
— Delhi Customs (@Delhicustoms) December 7, 2020
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13; body of last missing person recovered
Jabalpur (PTI): The bodies of a five-year-old boy and his uncle were recovered from Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district on Sunday morning, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy to 13, police said.
The boat, around 20 years old and operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening.
"The bodies of Mayuram (5) and his uncle Kamraj (around 50), an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, were found floating and were fished out of the dam," Bargi Sub Divisional Officer of Police Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI over the phone.
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All 13 missing persons identified have now been accounted for, he said, adding the bodies were sent to a government hospital for postmortem.
Teams comprising around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, along with personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, were involved in the search operation, the police said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the vessel, 28 were rescued after the incident, according to the police.
The CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat, though the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far, they said.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members. It also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
