Admits to smuggling 25 guns from Turkey earlier
The customsThe customs department at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has arrested an Indian couple returning from Vietnam in possession of 45 handguns of .22 caliber worth ` 22.5 lakh.
The accused were identified as Jagjeet Singh and his wife Jaswinder Kaur, who were returning to India with their infant daughter and the contraband.
In the preliminary report, the National Security Guard (NSG) has confirmed that the guns are fully functional and can be used.
The couple, who were arrested on July 10, reportedly confessed to previously smuggling 25 guns from Turkey worth `12.5 lakh, the officials said.
The officials handed over their infant daughter, who was with them at the time, to her grandmother. According to a senior customs official, the couple was intercepted by customs officials after they had crossed the green channel of the arrival hall and were approaching the east gate.
“Jagjit Singh was carrying two trolley bags which were handed over to him by his elder brother Manjit Singh, who had arrived from Paris almost at the same time Jagjit and Jawinder arrived from Vietnam,” said the senior customs official.
However, Manjit had slipped out of the airport by then. “Jaswinder Kaur was also an active participant in the smuggling plan and helped remove and destroy the tags of both the trolley bags containing 45 guns having an approximate value of `22.5 lakh,” said the senior customs official.
“Both of them have confessed to their previous involvement in smuggling 25 pieces of assorted guns from Turkey with an approximate value of `12.5 lakh,” said the customs official.
“The two trolley bags along with the recovered guns were seized and the couple was placed under arrest under Section 104 of the Customs Act,” the official added.
Officials said the couple is suspected to be smuggling these guns to supply to criminals in India.
The agencies are probing how the couple cleared security check with so many guns while leaving Vietnam.