During investigation, police detained Air India SATS loaders/unloaders working at Mangaluru International Airport.
Published Sep 03, 2025 | 3:58 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 03, 2025 | 3:58 PM
Gold ornaments stolen from air passenger’s baggage. (Supplied)
On 30 August, a woman passenger arrived at Mangaluru International Airport from Bengaluru on an Air India Express flight. After collecting her luggage from the baggage belt and checking it, she discovered that 56 grams of gold ornaments (worth ₹4,50,000) had been stolen. She lodged a complaint at Bajpe Police Station. Based on her complaint, a case was registered under Crime No. 157/2025, Section 303(2) BNS, and investigation was initiated.
During investigation, police detained the following Air India SATS loaders/unloaders working at Mangaluru International Airport:
1. Nithin, resident of Kandavara, Mangaluru Taluk
2. Sadananda, resident of Mooduperara
3. Rajesh, resident of Mooduperara
4. Praveen Fernandes, resident of Bajpe
Upon interrogation, they confessed to stealing the gold ornaments from the passenger’s baggage. They further revealed that they had sold the stolen ornaments to one Raviraj, resident of Mooduperara. Police recovered a 50-gram gold bar worth about ₹5 lakh from the accused. Raviraj has also been arrested for receiving stolen property under Section 317(2) BNS.
The investigation also revealed that in January 2025, the same accused had stolen ₹2 lakh in cash from the baggage of a passenger named Manohar Shetty. That case had already been registered at Bajpe Police Station under Crime No. 27/2025 and was under investigation.
All the accused have been working with Air India SATS for around nine years. The five arrested persons have been produced before court, and police custody will be sought for further investigation.
