Yemeni housewife held at Mumbai airport with 7.62-mm bullet

n the second such incident this week, security staff of Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) detained a female Yemeni national in the wee hours of Friday for carrying a 7.62-mm bullet. During interrogation, however, the 67-year-old housewife claimed that she was not aware that carrying bullets was illegal in India. Also read: 33-year-old housewife caught at airport with 4 live bullets 

Dheyale Sedeqa Ahmed was on her way back to Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, by Yemen Airways flight IY 855, around 2 am on Friday. Ahmed, who was on tourist visa, was caught by security staff when they found the 7.62-mm bullet in her handbag.

The 7.62-mm bullet is a nominal calibre that can be used in a number of cartridges. An official, who was present at the spot, explained, “Incidents of passengers being caught carrying such a big bullet are quite rare. Security staff were shocked to find the bullet in the handbag.The security personnel questioned her, but since her answers seemed vague, we called the Sahar police, who interrogated her.”

ACP Madhukar Sankhe (Airport Division) told mid-day, “The woman said that she didn’t know it was illegal to carry a bullet in the country, and had brought it here in her handbag. We filed the FIR under Sections 3 and 25 of Indian Arms Act. She was released by court after paying the bail amount of Rs 30,000.”