A Jet Airways crew member has been arrested for carrying US dollars worth Rs 3.21 crore on board a New Delhi-Hong Kong flight at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. Along with the crew member, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) also arrested the supplier.
Also Read: Jet Airways bomb scare
"US Dollars valued at Rs. 3.21 crore recovered from a lady crew member of a Hong Kong-bound Jet Airways flight last night at Indira Gandhi International airport," the DRI said in a statement.
According to DRI officials, the woman crew member was part of a scheme to bring gold to the country in exchange for black money. After the interrogation, the officials got hold of a travel company owner, who is believed to be the mastermind.
"The travel company owner used to collect money from businessmen in New Delhi and give it to the crew member. She used to hand over the money to someone in Hong Kong. The gang would then bring in gold illegally to convert the black money into white. At least 10 businessmen and some other airline crew members are on our radar," a DRI official told the Hindustan Times.
The officials also said that the crew member had been smuggling black money for at least one month now and gets around one percent of the total money. She wrapped the large sum of money in a foil paper, which the airport scanner was not able to detect easily.
Jet Airways confirmed the arrest and said the airline will take action against the crew member based on the investigation.
"During an inspection by the DRI team on January 8, 2018, a large sum of foreign currency was recovered from an employee of the airline. The employee has been taken into custody. Based on the investigations and inputs from law enforcement agencies, the airline will take further action," a Jet Airways spokesperson said in a statement.
This is not the first time that a Jet Airways crew member has been arrested for smuggling black money. In 2016, a crew member was arrested for carrying US dollars worth Rs 2.6 crore to Hong Kong to bring gold.
