MUMBAI, 20 January 2007 — Indian industrialist Nusli Wadia was interrogated by customs officials for nearly two hours and released after a revolver and 40 rounds of ammunition were found in his baggage, when he arrived at Dubai airport on Jan. 14. Wadia, the owner of GoAir and president of Bombay Dyeing, had arrived in Dubai aboard an Air-India flight from Mumbai.
The revolver and ammunition were found in the checked-in baggage of Wadia during the screening of his luggage at Dubai airport. The Dubai customs officials confiscated the weapon and ammunition after Wadia produced a valid Indian arms license. He was given a receipt for the seized arms. The police allowed Wadia to walk free after recording his statement.
Wadia refuted media reports that he was detained at Dubai airport, but admitted it was a mistake on his part to have not checked his baggage. A spokesman for the Nusli Wadia group said a domestic help inadvertently put the revolver and the ammunition along with Wadia’s clothes while packing his suitcase.
Wadia is a grandson of Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Police in Mumbai expressed surprise as to how the weapon and the ammunition had passed through the X-ray screening of the baggage at the Mumbai airport undetected, especially when there was a countrywide alert at airports. Air-India has suspended two members of its ground staff and said it will investigate the lapse.
An official of the Bureau of Civil Aviation and Security (BCAS) said that it will launch criminal prosecution against Wadia for breach of security and safety laws. The official said that under civil aviation laws it is mandatory for passengers traveling on international routes with arms to seek prior permission from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security in India and its counterpart agency in the destination country, which Wadia has failed to do.
