Reel to Real: ‘Crew’ movie-like gold smuggling case at Kannur airport, air hostess arrested

In a Bollywood-style twist, an air hostess was arrested for allegedly smuggling around gold in a manner similar to Kareena Kapoor's caper film ‘Crew’ in which the lead actors smuggled gold to earn money. 

Around one kilogram of gold was smuggled by a female flight attendant from Muscat to Kannur, a DRI source said on Thursday. The accused, identified as Surabhi Khatun, a native of Kolkata, concealed the gold in her rectum. 

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI—Kannur) officers intercepted the air hostess, who arrived from Muscat on May 28, with 960 grams of gold at Kannur International Airport, PTI reported. 

After the interrogation and necessary formalities were completed, she was produced before the jurisdictional magistrate and remanded for 14 days in a women's prison in Kannur. The evidence gathered so far suggests that Surabhi had previously smuggled gold several times. A detailed investigation has been started into the case. 

Source also claimed that this is the first in India where an airline crew member has been held for smuggling gold by concealing it in the rectum. 

Similarly, in the Bollywood drama ‘Crew’, featuring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu and Kriti Sanon, the three female flight attendants earned money by smuggling gold after their airline, Kohinoor Airlines, went bankrupt.

Released on March 29 this year, the movie revolves around the lives of three air hostesses who come from different backgrounds but face the same financial problems. The trio has its ups and downs during their gold smuggling planning and execution. But they ultimately emerge victorious.

The film features Kriti Sanon as Divya Rana, Tabu as Geeta Sethi, and Kareena Kapoor as Jasmine. Diljit Dosanjh plays a Customs officer, and Kapil Sharma plays Tabu's husband, Arun Sethi. The movie also features stars like Rajesh Sharma as Pruthviraj Mittal and Saswata Chatterjee as Vijay Walia.

The Crew is directed by Rajesh Krishnan and features Diljit Dosanjh and Kapil Sharma. The movie was released on OTT platform Netflix on May 24.