Sleuths at sea over UAE plane’s mission

Interrogators are still clueless as to where the arms-carrying UAE Air Force plane was headed and who supplied the weapons. The C-130 Hercules aircraft stopped for fuel at Netaji Subhas International Airport on Sunday and was detained after officials found weapons in it during a routine check. Significantly, the crew did not disclose in the transit form that there were weapons in the plane.

A highly-placed source in the home ministry said that the 10 crew members were not able to shed light on who supplied the arms and where the plane was going. Though the UAE government had secured permission for refuelling at Kolkata, it did not reveal that the plane was carrying arms.

Even more worrying is the fact that documents with the crew do not mention where the consignment is to be delivered. “The documents simply say that the plane was bound for China. The crew, however,  have reportedly said that Xiangyang was the destination,” he added.

Even after hours of interrogation, the crew have not been able to say who was to receive the consignment, that contains explosives, ammunition and three boxes of guns. The Chinese government’s silence on whether the package was meant for them, has raised doubts on whether the aircraft was actually going to Xiangyang or any other place in China.

Investigators from the customs department and the defence and external affairs ministries are unable to figure out why such a small consignment should be sent to a country that is one of the biggest arms exporters in the world. “This has raised serious doubts about the motive of the aircraft’s mission,” he said. The UAE government authorities were reportedly in touch with their Indian counterparts. Efforts were being made to sort out the mess at diplomatic levels.