Kannur, Kerala:

An air hostess was arrested for allegedly smuggling nearly one kilogram of gold from Muscat to Kannur by concealing it in her rectum, a DRI source said today.

Based on specific intelligence by DRI Cochin, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI – Kannur) intercepted the cabin crew member named Surabhi Khatun, a native of Kolkata, who arrived from Muscat at Kannur International Airport on May 28.

Her personal search resulted in the recovery of 960 grams of smuggled gold in compound form concealed in her rectum, the source told news agency Press Trust of India.

After interrogation and completing the necessary formalities, she was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate and remanded to 14 days to women’s prison in Kannur, the source told news agency PTI.

This is the first case in India where an airline crew member has been apprehended for smuggling gold by concealing it in the rectum, the source claimed.

A detailed investigation has started and the evidence gathered so far suggests she had previously smuggled gold several times. The involvement of Kerala-based individuals in the smuggling gang is also being investigated, the source told Press Trust of India.

A representative of the airline was contacted seeking its view on the issue, but is yet to respond.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Two members of British Airways cabin crew have been fired after they posted a racist video on Tik Tok mocking Asian passengers. The offensive clip was filmed by Holly Walton and Lauren Bray while they stayed at a luxury resort hotel in Antigua paid for by the airline, Metro reported.

In the video, the duo mocked a Chinese family who spoke little English and attempted to order drinks on a flight. Ms Walton was filmed making racist eye gestures and saying “Give me wine” in a Chinese accent. A caption on the video read: “2 weeks in a row with this d***head.” The clip was filmed by Ms Bray, who has since disabled her Instagram account.

After the video was posted online, colleagues of the duo expressed their shock and disgust over the racist clip. One colleague said the women were “deliberately laughing” at the family which “sends out the worst message possible.” Another Asian staff member said, ”I’m reeling from seeing this video. It makes me question the airline and my colleagues. Action has to be taken. We won’t stand for it.”

Another told the Sun: “This recording is obscene. For anyone to have such racist thoughts, to then film them and share them with the world, is shocking and dumb in equal measure. This is hugely damaging for the airline and they deserved the axe.”

The crew members were ordered to fly back from a round trip in Cancun, Mexico for a meeting on Monday with BA bosses at the airline’s headquarters. Ms Bray was witnessed leaving the meeting at the airline’s HQ in “floods of tears’ on Monday.

British Airways confirmed the two women were no longer employed by them. In a statement, a BA spokesperson commented: “All forms of racism are completely unacceptable, and we take allegations of this nature very seriously.”