Two Kenya Airways Crew Members Arrested in India with Concealed Gold

Authorities are investigating how two crew members of Kenya Airways (KQ) flights managed to fly to India from Nairobi carrying concealed gold.

The two landed at Mumbai Airport from Nairobi on two separate flights on Thursday and Friday and were arrested with the concealed gold, The Star reports. Carrying concealed gold is a criminal offense in India.

Indian authorities alerted their Kenyan counterparts on the matter, with officials in Nairobi launching a probe to establish how the two left the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) with the packages and who may have facilitated them.

In a statement following the incident, Kenya Airways stated that it does not condone the breaking of local and international laws. 

“Kenya Airways (KQ) has received information that The Mumbai Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) has detained two of our employees for lack of proper documentation relating to precious metals found in their possession.”

“The matter is under investigation, and KQ is cooperating with the investigating agencies. KQ has zero tolerance towards any action of its employees that contravenes local or international laws prevalent in the countries of its operations,” KQ noted.

Diplomatic efforts are ongoing to have the crew released and action taken locally.

In 2018, another Kenya Airways crew member was arrested in Mumbai with 23 kilograms of smuggled gold bars in what officials described as the biggest haul of smuggled goods ever seized from an airline staff in the city.

The suspect had tucked the 156 gold “biscuits” worth Sh100 million in a waist belt and knee-cap supports and was arrested after checking into a five-star hotel near the international airport.