Air India crew member detained for trying to smuggle gold

RIYADH: In an unprecedented move, authorities at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah have detained a cabin crew member of an Air India flight bound for Kochi, for trying to smuggle out gold from the Kingdom to India.
Confirming the detention of one of the cabin crew members, M. A. Noor Mohammad, senior airport manager of Air India in Jeddah, told Arab News on Friday: "The incident happened on Thursday morning, when the detained cabin crew was due to board the third flight bound for Kochi that day, along with 11 other crew members."
He was intercepted at the security clearance checkpoint where he was found to be in possession of undeclared gold and was subsequently detained, he added.
Mohammad said that the cabin crew member was taken for interrogation by the customs authorities and is still in detention as the investigation is in progress. The airline will take suitable action in this regard, he said.
The embarrassing incident also forced India's flag carrier to operate the flight with 11 cabin crew members instead of the mandatory 12.