US woman detained at airport with satellite phone

BENGALURU: The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) police detained an American woman after she was caught carrying a satellite phone in her handbag. The incident took place on October 3 when she was heading to the United States via Mumbai by a Jet Airways flight.

A case was filed on October 4. A senior KIA policeman said that M S Yadav, an officer with Central Industrial Security Force (CISF),  had complained about Pearl Angela Mecenas (39). She had checked into the departure gate around 6.10 pm and CISF personnel checked her handbag. They found a Thuraya satellite phone inside and asked her to show the documents needed to carry the device. She couldn’t produce the relevant documents and was taken into custody for questioning.

“Based on a complaint, we booked Mecenas under Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act and produced her before the court where she paid the fine. Her phone was seized and handed over to the American Embassy, where she collected it after producing the relevant documents. Further investigations are under way.
“Using satellite phones is prohibited in India. We wonder how she managed to bring it into the country. During the interrogation she revealed that she was using it in the US and had carried it along with her. She added that she was not stopped at any airports earlier,” an officer said.