DRI asks Air India to check gold smuggling by its staff

Worried over instances of gold smuggling by some Air India staffers, the Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence has asked the national carrier to take necessary measures to check it.
In a letter written by Director General of DRI Najeeb Shah, Air India has been asked to sanitise its staff, especially those involved in ground-handling duties, official sources said.
The DRI has also cited some past incidents of gold smuggling by Air India staffers in its missive, they said.
Air India did not offer any response or comment to PTI on the matter.
"There have been growing instances of gold smuggling by some Air India staffers. We seek immediate steps by them to ensure such kind of incidents do not happen," a DRI official said.

"We have been taking strict measures to check gold smuggling. The airline management also needs to put in place an effective system," the official said.

The DRI is understood to have sought a detailed enquiry report regarding those staffers held for illegally bringing gold into the country.
An Air India air hostess and her friend were arrested by DRI last month from Calicut International Airport for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country 6 kg of gold, officials said.
In October, 32 kgs of gold biscuits, worth Rs 15 crore in the international market, were recovered from the lavatory of an Air India flight when it reached Chennai from Dubai. Four persons were later arrested in the case, they said.

Three Air India staffers were also arrested at IGI airport here in October by customs officials for allegedly trying to smuggle gold out of the country.