Thane women lose $25,000 cash from checked-in baggage on Dubai flight (AI image used for representational purpose only)
MUMBAI: A $25,000 (over Rs 23.6 lakh) cash theft from the checked-in baggage of two Thane homemakers is the biggest of 16 baggage theft cases registered at Sahar police station between Jan and Aug this year. The 40-year-old woman has urged police to examine the attendance records of loaders assigned to their flight between 11am and 2pm on Aug 26.
Police said hundreds of loaders were on duty and CCTV cameras did not cover some stretches between the conveyor belt and the aircraft cargo hold, according to her. The women were also told they should not have carried cash in checked-in baggage. Former Mumbai police commissioner D Sivanandhan said local police should develop an informer network inside the airport instead of relying on CCTV footage. He said crime branch should investigate the cases, alleging that thieves could exploit CCTV blind spots and be alerted after valuables were spotted during X-ray screening.
None of the cases has been solved. She suspects that someone who saw the cash during X-ray screening may have alerted a loader. The women spent four days in their hotel room without money before returning to Mumbai on Sunday.
The latest FIR was registered on Sept 3 after the two family friends, aged 40 and 46, alleged that their cash was stolen during their Aug 26 Mumbai-Dubai journey.
“I will pursue the matter until the money is recovered,” she said. They had boarded a SpiceJet flight from Mumbai and discovered after landing in Dubai that one bag had been broken open and the cash was missing. The family had taken a loan and carried its savings to Dubai to shop for a wedding scheduled in Dec and meet travel expenses.