Air India Express cabin crew member held in Kochi for smuggling 1.4kg gold

The Air India Express cabin crew member, hailing from Wayanad, kept the gold wrapped around his hands and covered it under his full sleeves uniform

An Air India Express cabin crew member in a Bahrain- Kochi flight was apprehended by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs department at Kerala’s Kochi airport for smuggling over 1.4 kg gold on Wednesday, officials said.

The airline has confirmed the matter and said the crew was suspended. (Representative Image)

The accused kept the gold wrapped around his hands and covered it under his full sleeves uniform.

The airline confirmed the matter and said that the crew was suspended by the airline.

“A member of the crew on an Air India Express flight IX 474 (that landed at Kochi at around 7.30pm) has been taken into custody following an incident involving smuggling. The said individual has been placed on suspension with immediate effect,” an airline spokesperson said.

“Air India Express has zero tolerance for such behaviour and will be taking stern action against the individual including termination of service following receipt of the report from the investigative authorities,” he added.

The crew member, who was apprehended based on a specific input, was identified to be a resident of Wayanad.

“We are awaiting details from the relevant authorities, after which we will take action as needed,” an airline official told HT.

In a separate incident, two passengers arriving from Singapore were caught with 6.8kg of gold worth Rs. 3.32crore by the Chennai Custom officers.