US soldier held at Delhi airport with 3 live rounds

The US soldier said that he did not have any idea about Indian rules and regulations that bar fliers from carrying bullets in the aircraft baggage.

A US soldier was apprehended at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) for allegedly carrying three live bullets in his baggage.

The US soldier said that he did not have any idea about Indian rules and regulations that bar fliers from carrying bullets in the aircraft baggage. (HT file photo)

Officials said the incident was reported at 10pm on Friday night when a group of US nationals reached the airport to take a flight to New York and one of them had three live bullets and four empty cases in his baggage which was detected by airport staff.

According to the officials, the person, identified as P A Tyler, said he was a soldier in the US army and explained that he had come to India to participate in a joint defence exercise and had due authorisation from United States authorities for keeping the bullets.

Tyler said that he did not have any idea about Indian rules and regulations that bar fliers from carrying bullets in the aircraft baggage.

He was offloaded from the flight and the matter was handed over to Delhi Police which took custody of the soldier and later approached the US Embassy in Delhi.

Further proceedings are on, the officials said.