Toy gun triggers scare at airport

Spotting of a gun at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport caused panic on Monday night. However, the anxiety died down after it was realised that it was just a replica of MAG58 machine gun. 

The gun was spotted in a black box lying near bay No 56 of the international terminal, Sahar, by an Indian airline employee around 10 pm. He immediately informed the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials. But till then panic gripped everyone at the airport. “There is high alert at the airport and we did not take a chance with its security,” said a senior CISF official. The CISF officials opened the box only to find the replica along with the exporter’s address.

The replica is a part of a 12-gun consignment that was sent by Pune-based exporter Sri Samarth Precision Works to London in June. “But due to some problem only six guns were sent, while six others were off-loaded and kept at the cargo complex,” said an airport official. Out of the remaining six, one gun went missing on June 23.

The consignment was sent through a Virgin Atlantic flight. When contacted, the spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic (VA) said, “Virgin Atlantic had made arrangements with its ground handler to store the replica items securely until the shipment date was finalised. We will carry out an investigation of this incident with the ground handler,” she said.

An airport official said that the box might have been stolen by a loader. “The loader or the thief must have panicked after seeing the gun and left it then and there,” he said.