Thaindian News

Kolkata, Sep 10 (IANS) A United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force transport plane headed for China following its release Thursday, four days after it was detained at the Kolkata airport for carrying weapons and explosives without declaring them, the defence ministry said.
“The aircraft left Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport at around 9 a.m. this (Thursday) morning,” Wing Commander Mahesh Upasani, Indian defence ministry spokesperson (Eastern Command), told IANS.

Defence ministry sources said the aircraft left for China.

“The aircraft got the required clearances from customs officials. All necessary procedures have also been followed by the authorities of the Indian Air Force (IAF) before giving permission to fly out,” Upasani said.

The UAE Air Force plane (C130J) was flying from Abu Dhabi to Xianyang in China and had landed at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here to refuel Sunday night.

The Indian authorities detained the plane after finding that it was carrying arms, ammunition and explosives. However, at the time of the initial application for landing, there was no mention that the plane was carrying this.

As the detention of the aircraft threatened to turn into a diplomatic row, the UAE authorities “apologised” for not declaring the consignment of weapons in the cargo plane.

Later, the captain of the flight, Major Ibrahim Alshamsei, filed a declaration to the customs stating the flight was carrying arms/ammunition/explosives. The declaration also provided details about the cargo which consisted of combat missiles.