New Delhi:
Five Fijian nationals were arrested at Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong and deported to India for possible security breach. Before boarding the Air India flight from the Capital on April 10, they had spent three months in the country.
Rafik Saiyed, Rafik Mohammed, Ali Naushad, Ali Mohammed and Khan Mohammed arrived in India on January 1, reportedly on a tourist visa, to visit historical places across the country. After spending three months here they decided to go back. All five boarded Air India flight AI 310 on April 10 for Hong Kong. From there they would take another plane for Fiji. On the way the Air India staff received an alert that the group was travelling on counterfeit tickets.
The message first came to the office of Air India's Deputy Director in Hong Kong that five persons might be flying on fake tickets and it could be a security threat to the country. An airport source said that as soon as the message Air India officials informed the Hong Kong Airport authority about the matter. As soon as the plane landed at Hong Kong airport, all the five Fijians were detained by security personnel and were interrogated. They were deported back to India after security personnel smelt foul play in the matter.
The five persons have been handed over to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport police to look into the matter. DCP, IGI, R Sanjiv said that according to Air India the accused have travelled on counterfeit tickets and hence an FIR of cheating and forgery was immediately lodged.
"They came on the same tickets to India. They booked their tickets through United Airlines which has an alliance with Air India. Officials of Air India have said that the tickets are fake. The matter is being probed. We also have contacted United Airlines but have not received any reply from them so far. UAL is yet to give us their report in this respect," the DCP said.
Meanwhile, a senior police official said that the five Fijians have been handed over to their Embassy. They have been asked to stay in India till the investigations are completed. "Police will arrest them after Air India hands us the report on the counterfeit tickets. We have asked the airlines to do the needful as early as possible," said a senior police official.
"This is the first time when such an incident has been reported. The Fijians are retired teachers and farmers. They booked their tickets through United Airlines in Fiji," the official added.
A senior immigration official told MiD DAY that there was no breach of any immigration laws. "All their documents were authentic. Passport other identity cards etc everything was valid," the official added.
Air India official spokesperson admitted that the incident has come to the airline's notice. "We have an arrangement with United Airlines under which the tickets booked on that airline are valid in Air India as well," he said. When the tickets were issued to them at the airport, the system confirmed a booking of five persons with the same names. "However, later it was found that payment against the booking had not been done. Either the tickets were stolen or the travel agent who had booked the tickets for them in Fiji did some mischief," the spokesperson added.
Security breached
February 10, 2011A Kingfisher passenger was allowed to enter the terminal and board a flight on a month old boarding pass at Delhi airport. 29-year-old Ankush Wadhera entered Delhi's T3 terminal to get on a Kingfisher flight to Kolkata. A frequent flyer, Ankush carried a computerised boarding pass after a web check-in. He passed through CISF security at the terminal entrance, checked in at the Kingfisher counter and boarded the flight without a hitch. Finding his seat occupied, Ankush checked his boarding pass and found to his horror that he was travelling on a one-month old ticket. The ticket dated January 10 was the one Ankush travelled with while the one dated February 10 was the legitimate ticket. Both CISF and Kingfisher are probing the matter.
April 6, 2011An intruder who triggered the evacuation of the Qantas domestic terminal at Melbourne Airport twice slipped by security and police. Between 3000 and 6000 people, according to differing estimates, had to be ushered out of the Qantas terminal after a man was spotted on closed circuit television slipping into the "sterile" area at about 9:30am. He entered in the simplest of ways - in through the "out" door from the baggage collection area. Security staff lost track of the man on CCTVs inside the terminal, leaving no option but to clear everyone out for rescreening. The intruder slipped past security for the second time as passengers shuffled out.