Kannur: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Friday arrested a Malayali who allegedly 'recruited' the cabin crew of Air India Express held for gold smuggling at Kannur Airport.

The accused, Suhail Thanalot (33), a resident of Thillankeri in Kannur, has been working as a cabin crew for around 10 years. He played a 'significant role in recruiting' Surabhi Khatun, who was nabbed with 960 grams of gold on a Muscat-Kannur flight on Tuesday, said a DRI report. However, it is reported that Suhail was not on the flight.

Khatun, a cabin crew member from Kolkata, had concealed the gold worth approximately Rs 60 lakh in her rectum. She was remanded to judicial custody on Thursday. Suhail will be produced before the judicial magistrate with a request for remand, sources said.

Regarding Khatun's arrest, Air India Express confirmed that Customs was investigating an incident involving their employee. "We confirm that an incident is being investigated by the Customs authorities at CNN (Kannur) airport involving an employee. We are cooperating with the investigative authorities," a spokesperson for Air India Express said. The airline, however, has not commented on Suhail's arrest.

Based on specific intelligence from DRI Cochin, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI - Kannur) intercepted Khatun. A personal search resulted in the recovery of 960 grams of smuggled gold in compound form concealed in her rectum. This is the first case in India where an airline crew member has been apprehended for smuggling gold by concealing it in the rectum, sources claimed.
(With PTI Inputs)