An elderly NRI couple was caught red-handed with 3.7 kg of heroin. The couple was caught while boarding Birmingham-Toronto ‘Air India’ flight from Amritsar’s Rajasansi airport on Sunday.

The drug consignment was seized when the Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) searched their luggage. The Air India flight was preparing for its take-off when the former got hold of the couple. Raminder Singh Nagra, 60 and his wife Harjinder Kaur, 56 were accused of violating the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

The couple was taken by surprise as they had gone through the custom clearance and had already boarded their flight when the DRI officials entered the plane and caught them unawares.

The officials had to halt the flight which was about to take off and the pilot was asked to return back to the bay. However there was no disruption in the schedule of the flight as it soon left after de-boarding the couple who held Canadian citizenship and were headed for Toronto.

The DRI officials started interrogation and the accused reported that they had no idea about the drugs as their luggage was packed by their son in village. They used to reside at a village near Nakodar town in Jalandhar district on their trip to India.

Last month only, the DRI got hold of 54 kg heroin and in another case held a senior Youth Akali Dal leader Parshotam Lal Sondhi of Jalandhar for carrying 23 kg heroin. With the cases of transference of Narcotics to other nations becoming frequent the Airport officials have become all the more vigilant.