The police in India Monday arrested a Kenya Airways crew member with 23 kg of gold, worth Ksh 100 million, hidden in a waist belt and knee-cap supports when he tried to check into a five-star hotel near the international airport. It was the biggest ever seizure in the city of gold from airline staff.
An accomplice, Ibrahim Ali Hussein, 26, who was allegedly supposed to collect the gold from the crew member, Abdalla Ali Said, 29, was also arrested from the hotel. The two Kenyan nationals have been handed over to airport customs for investigation.
On Sunday, after landing in the city on Kenya Airways Flight KQ 210 at around 4pm Indian Time, Said, carrying 156 gold biscuits, cleared customs and was picked up by a car from Hyatt Regency. He arrived at the hotel at about 7.30pm and checked in by 8pm. However, a hotel employee grew suspicious as another foreign national kept walking close to him on the premises, said the police.
Airline crew members were not frisked.
