Seven Baggage Handlers Arrested For Stealing Gold, Cash, And Airpods On Indian Flights

Seven baggage handlers have been arrested in connection with a series of thefts at Indira Gandhi International Airport, officials said.

The accused was also found to be in possession of a huge stash of gold ornaments, luxury watches, AirPods, and foreign currency.

According to the officials, officials of the airlines involved are also being interrogated to curb such thefts.

In order to curb baggage thefts throughout the year, a dedicated team was deployed to solve this case," said Devesh Mahla, Deputy Commissioner of Police.

A special task force has been formed to track down the thieves, according to officials.

According to officials, after scrutinizing CCTV footage and interviewing all of the loaders in that shift, one of the loaders broke down and [confessed to] stealing the gold jewellery and selling it to a jeweler.

Additionally, the accused said that various airline staff had helped him steal many more items from passengers' baggage in the past.

According to the police, six more suspects were identified and interrogated.

The airlines are not following the periodic guidelines issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and letters issued by the Delhi Police, the officials said, and are working hand-in-glove with the thieves.

A pair of golden earrings studded with white pearls, two pairs of golden earrings, a gold chain, two pairs of gold tops, a gold small chain, two golden earrings, a golden broken mangalsutra with a pendant, two pieces of a golden chain, two golden women's chains, two luxury watches, two AirPods, sunglasses, and currency from five countries were all recovered.

"An FIR was registered wherein the complainant alleged that on September 16 came to Delhi from Melbourne by Singapore Airlines. Further, she had to take another flight from Delhi to Amritsar. While boarding for Amritsar, her baggage was found to be overweight for which she opened her bags and adjusted the articles. All this time, her assistant in the wheelchair that she had booked was observing her. When she reached home, she realised that her gold valuables were missing from her purse that she had kept in her check-in baggage," the police said.

Another incident occurred on August 16 this year when Rajesh Sen, a resident of Goa, flew from Delhi to Goa on Air Vistara flight no. UK-855 and handed over his luggage for check-in at the Air Vistara counter at IGI Airport T3. His bag contained a high-end watch worth Rs 468,000.

The watch was stolen from the baggage. The same ground handling company, Air India SATS, handled baggage for Air Vistara, the police said.

The investigation is underway, and the officials of Air Vistara and Air India SATS will be charged accordingly.

 

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