Pakistan: Gold worth Rs20m stolen from jeweller’s cabin bag during flight from Dubai

In an unusual theft, gold worth Rs20 million was stolen from a Pakistani jeweller’s cabin baggage during a flight from Dubai to Karachi, according to a media report on Monday.

Mohammad Moonis lost 1,542 grams of gold during the international flight on Sunday afternoon, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Despite the aircraft crew’s search for it after the flight landed in Karachi, the gold could not be recovered.

The jeweller said that during the flight, one and a half kilograms of gold disappeared from the bag kept in the aircraft’s cabin. He added that he notified the cabin crew about the missing gold during the flight.

The victim said that after landing, the Airport Security Force (ASF) conducted a 100 per cent scanning of the passengers in search of the missing gold. However, the gold stolen during the flight could not be recovered. The airline was not named in the report.

The passenger had also informed the customs authorities in advance about bringing the gold to Pakistan.

According to sources, the traveller was legally bringing back half the value of the legally exported jewellery in the form of gold. The gold was owned by Naurattan Jewellers of Karachi.

Customs officials on duty told the newspaper that a detailed search of the aircraft was conducted based on the passenger’s report.

The customs authorities indicated that the theft may have occurred at the time of departure from Dubai International Airport, but the affected passenger maintained that the presence of the gold was confirmed during the flight and that it was stolen inflight.

This is the second incident of an unusual theft in the country.

Earlier, a luxury sedan, Bentley Mulsanne, was recovered from Karachi by Pakistan Customs under ‘mysterious’ circumstances after a British law enforcement agency alerted the authorities.

The vehicle was reportedly stolen in London.

• Pakistan
• Dubai