An Indian couple returning from Vietnam was detained by customs officials at Delhi’s India Gandhi International Airport after they were found in possession of 45 pistols, estimated to be worth Rs 22.5 lakh. Jagjeet Singh and his wife Jaswinder Kaur, who allegedly admitted to smuggling 25 weapons from Turkey for Rs 12.5 lakhs, were named as the accused.
The family arrived from Vietnam on July 11 and, according to Customs Commissioner Zubair Kamili, the accused Jagjeet was carrying two trolley bags that his older brother Manjit Singh, who had arrived from Paris at the same time as the family from Vietnam and had already left the airport, had allegedly given to him.
Jagjeet allegedly assisted Jaswinder in removing the tags from the bags containing the firearms, according to reports. Nevertheless, they were caught by customs officers while walking to the exit gate, and the guns were found. The two were captured red-handed, and have since been arrested under Section 104 of the Customs Act (Power to Arrest) and all the firearms were seized under Section 110 of the Act (Seizure of Goods).
“Further, investigation of these two trolley bags carried by passenger -1 (male passenger) led to the recovery of 45 pieces of varied brand weapons with an estimated worth of 22.5 lakh,” the statement read.
They both admitted that they had previously imported 25 firearms from Turkey to India. The incident is the subject of ongoing investigation.
