NEW DEHLI: Indian Customs caught two Air India crew members for 3 kilogram of gold smuggling during flight, which worth Rs 78.1 lakh.
In a letter by the Customs Air Intelligence unit the department has highlighted serious lapses in the customs clearance by the Air India crew. The letter was sent to the Executive Director of western region of Air India.
The letter talks about instances of ‘smuggling of gold’ by Air India crew members Nihal Prajapati and Sidhesh Patil. It highlights how an Air India crew member was caught while smuggling 3 kilos of gold valued at Rs 78.1 lakh when he was operating domestic flight AI-012 on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route.
The Assistant Commissioner of Customs of Air Intelligence unit in his letter has stated that the national flyer must instruct crew members to mandatorily undergo customs checks. It has also asked Air India to issue instructions to crew operating from Terminal 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji international terminal to clear customs without fail. They have also sent out a warning that any deviation from the said procedure will be viewed seriously.
