Indian passenger on Dubai flight 'found with handgun'

Investigation launched after reports that man took small pistol onto FlyDubai flight

The handgun said to have been seized from a passenger at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Photo: Delhi Customs / Twitter

An investigation has been launched after customs authorities in India reported they had confiscated a handgun from a passenger on a flight from Dubai shortly after it arrived in Delhi.

Officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport posted on Twitter a photo of a handgun seized from a passenger on a FlyDubai flight from Dubai International Airport.

Customs officers said the passenger was arrested after arriving in Delhi from Dubai on flight FZ451 on Tuesday, February 1.

“Continuing in its vigil, Customs at IGIA seized a revolver and two empty magazines from an India passenger arrived from Dubai by FZ451 flight on 1st Feb,” the Delhi Customs post read.

“The arms has been seized and the passenger has been placed under arrest.”

Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi and is the country’s busiest.

Dubai Police said any investigation was under the jurisdiction of Dubai Customs.

Dubai Customs said it only inspected passengers coming into the UAE.

FlyDubai said it was looking into the incident.

“We are aware of the tweet,” a FlyDubai representative said.

“We are taking it seriously and we are investigating.”

It is rare for a passenger carrying a concealed weapon to avoid detection at the many security checkpoints before boarding an aircraft at international airports.

This month, a gun loaded with six bullets was discovered in the hand luggage of a passenger at Buffalo-Niagara International Airport’s security checkpoint in the US.

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Australian customs officers foiled this attempt to smuggle the party drug ecstasy into the country, concealed in a Mr Potato Head toy. Officers at Sydney International Mail Centre cracked open the Toy Story figurine and found 293g of the drug in October, 2007. AFP

Portuguese police released this image of multicoloured swim trunks with two brown rubber bags — supposed to look like buttocks — attached. The passenger who was wearing them was caught at the airport in Lisbon, off a flight from Belem in northern Brazil in February 2018. The fake buttocks contained enough cocaine for 5,000 doses. Photo: Portuguese National Police

Guatemalan smugglers were found to have scooped out the cream filling of dozens of vanilla wafers and replaced it with wraps of cocaine. US Customs and Border Protection arrested the Guatemalan passenger carrying them at George Bush Airport in Houston in April 2015. The nearly 2 kilos of cocaine would have a street value of more than $60,000. AP

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According to a police report, the passenger was arrested after landing at Miami International Airport where the weapon and five 32-calibre rounds were discovered by security officials before he transferred to an Orlando flight.