The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested a female flight attendant of Jet Airways who was smuggling foreign exchange out of the country.
In a statement issued here on Monday, the DRI said that officials have recovered USD 4,80,200 (approximately Rs 3.21 crore) wrapped in foil in her possession. It added that the 25-year-old lady was arrested when she was on a flight to Hong Kong.
A senior DRI official said that during investigation, it was found that she was working with an agent, named Amit Malhotra, a resident of Vivek Vihar area in Delhi.
Amit Malhotra was following a modus operandi of using crew members for smuggling of forex, the official added.
"Malhotra would collect money from some bullion dealers in Delhi and send it via some air hostess to select foreign destinations. The money was being used for purchasing gold abroad. The gold would then be sent to India illegally," the official said.
Malhotra had befriended the Jet airways crew six months ago during a flight to India, he said.
The DRI suspected the role of some other crew members of Jet Airways in smuggling out forex, the official said.
"Malhotra has been illegally smuggling forex for the past over one year. There are some other crew members involved in the case. We are also trying to find out the details of bullion dealers involved in this syndicate," he said.
Both Malhotra and the Jet Airways crew member have been arrested, the official said.
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