01 June,2024 06:02 AM IST | Kannur | mid-day online correspondent
Representational images. Pic/iStock
A senior male crew member of the same airline was detained by DRI detectives on Friday for his alleged "significant role" in enlisting the female crew member in the gold smuggling incident, which involved an Air India Express flight. This action marked the beginning of a thorough investigation into the incident.
Suhail Thanalot, a senior crew member of AIE and a native of Thillenkeri in the Kannur region, was reportedly caught after the DRI gathered information and proof about his role in the gold smuggling incident, reported PTI.
Per the PTI report, he was apprehended three days after DRI detained Surabhi Khatun, a Kolkata resident, for reportedly attempting to transport about one kilogram of gold from Muscat to Kannur by concealing it in her rectum. She was remanded into judicial prison on Thursday.
According to the source, Suhail, who has about ten years of cabin crew experience, is accused of playing a big role in recruiting Khatun into the smuggling syndicate.
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He will appear before a judicial magistrate with a request for remand, according to the source's statement to PTI.
Regarding Khatun's detention, Air India Express acknowledged that Customs was investigating an incident involving one of its employees.
"We confirm that an incident is being investigated by the Customs authorities at CNN (Kannur) airport involving an employee. We are cooperating with the investigative authorities," a spokesperson of the airline told PTI.
However, the airline has not reacted to Suhail's detention.
According to the PTI report, DRI Cochin provided particular intelligence, and personnel from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI - Kannur) intercepted Khatun.
Her personal search had yielded 960 grams of illegal gold in compound form, secreted in her rectum.
The source added that this is the first time in India that an airline crew member has been nabbed for smuggling gold by concealing it in the rectum, the report added.
