Police said the trio — Lakshmanan (30), Ayub Khan (33) and Ameer Mohamed (35) of Andheri East in Mumbai — had barged into a gold factory which was already sealed by the Revenue and Enforcement department and looted a few important documents and gold pieces on Wednesday.

On Thursday around 2.45 pm, the Indigo flight to Mumbai was scheduled to depart from the Chennai airport with 79 passengers. A few minutes before the departure the Chenagalpattu police special team approached the airport manager and informed that three men, wanted in a criminal case, have boarded the flight to Mumbai. The police asked the manager to allow them to arrest all three and also submitted the case details and the arrest warrant.

Soon, the manager asked the airlines to hold the departure of the flight and granted special permission for the cops to enter the airport. Meanwhile, the Indigo officials offloaded the three from the flight and the special team arrested all of them.