Police has busted a theft racket operating inside Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) terminals. Eight people arrested and seized jewellery worth over ₹ 10 lakh from their possession, the officials said.

Official Statements

Eight accused were working as the loaders with various airlines and ground handling agencies at IGI Airport, New Delhi, officials said.

“All the accused persons are working as loaders with various airlines and ground handling agencies operating at IGI Aiport, New Delhi. They all were operating as a gang and used to work in active connivance with each other. They use to commit theft from the baggage of the passengers and use to hide the stolen articles inside the lockers and other places within the airport,” the police said.

In a detailed report, the police said, “Gold and silver jewellery of approximately ₹ 10 lakhs, 6 branded watches, Apple I- Phone, Cash ₹ 1,15,000 and other articles have been seized from their possession.”

Moreover, “On January 11, the team of Police station IGI Airport with the help of the vigilance department of the Airlines apprehended one loader namely Deepak Pal S/o Satya Prakash who attempted to pilfer from the registered check-in baggage of a passenger who was to board the flight.”

A case under sections 379/511 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered and investigation is ongoing, the police added.

Police Identifies The Accused

Ahead the arrest, the Police have identified the accused as Gautam Kumar S/o Ram Bir Singh, Moshin Khan S/o Ibrahim Khan, Rahul Yadav S/o Ashok, Yashwinder S/o Sube Singh, Pappi Kumar S/o Kalu Ram Neeraj Kumar S/o Omprakash, Kamal Kumar S/o Suresh Kumar.

Accused Deepak was brought to the police station. He disclosed that he was working as a loader in the ground handling assistance providing company, since 2018.

The accused said, “As the salary of ₹ 18,000 was not enough for him. He started committing petty thefts from the baggage of the passengers. Whenever he got an opportunity. Slowly and gradually he came in contact with seven other loaders and ground handling staff of other airlines and agencies. They all were living in close vicinity and were working in almost the same timing shifts. They were active connivance and with ulterior motives formulated a gang and started committing baggage theft at a large scale.”

Dedicated Police Team Formed

A dedicated team of police officials comprising Inspector Sumit Kumar, Insp. Satish Yadav, SI Mukesh Kumar, SI Sandeep, SI Prashant, SI Sanjeev Chaudhary, HC Vishwajeet, HC Birju, and W/Ct. Mohini under the leadership of SHO, IGIA Yashpal Singh and overall supervision of ACP, IGI Virender Mor was constituted.

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