Criminals may be coming up with new ways to commit crimes, and a new report has raised questions about whether some bomb-threat hoaxes at Indian airports could have been used to support smuggling.
A report stating 104 aviation bomb-threat incidents from 2010 to 2026 has examined a possible link between fake bomb threats and Customs operations. Its findings suggest that, in some cases, a threat may do more than create panic. It could potentially delay a flight, pull security staff away from another area or create confusion during baggage checks — giving smugglers an opportunity to move or protect illegal goods.
However, the TOI’s investigation report makes an important point: this does not mean every airport bomb threat is connected to smuggling. Most of the threats were reportedly malicious hoaxes intended to disrupt flights, while only a small number of cases showed a confirmed, probable or suspected Customs connection.
Seven cases raised a Customs link
Report recorded 85 cases from October 2024 through April 2025 and found seven instances where a possible connection with Customs action emerged. Those 7 cases, or 8.2%, were found to have a confirmed, probable or suspected connection with Customs interdictions.
Four of the seven cases were assessed as having established connections, while the remaining three were either considered likely to be connected or were still being investigated.
The cases involved a range of suspected smuggling activity. Authorities recovered 5.9 kg of gold worth more than ₹4.5 crore, along with 3.2 kg of methaqualone valued at around ₹3.2 crore. Foreign currency, commercial vapes and cigarettes were also seized in the cases examined.
The findings point to several possible ways in which a fake security threat could be used during a smuggling operation.
A bomb threat could create confusion
One possibility identified in the report is that a threat could be made close to where contraband has been hidden.
This was seen in one of the most striking cases involving an Air India flight from Dubai to Mumbai.
On October 18, 2024, cabin crew on Air India flight AI-349 found a handwritten note claiming that a bomb had been placed in the rear lavatory.
The aircraft was searched after landing in Mumbai. During the search, security and Customs teams discovered 1.85 kg of gold paste worth around ₹1.42 crore hidden behind a mirror panel in the same lavatory.
According to the report, the location mentioned in the threat matched the area where the gold had been concealed.
Investigators considered this a direct connection between the threat and the smuggling attempt. The suspected idea was that the threat could keep passengers and crew away from the lavatory while an accomplice retrieved the hidden gold.
But the plan had the opposite result. The bomb scare led to a detailed search, and the hidden gold was found.
Another threat came after a Customs detention
A different pattern emerged in a November 2, 2024 case at Delhi airport.
An anonymous caller claimed that explosives had been placed inside checked baggage on IndiGo flight 6E-2114, which was scheduled to fly to Bangkok.
The report says the threat came after Customs officers had detained an alleged accomplice. During the Customs operation, officials had recovered 120 commercial vapes, US $18,000 and €5,000 in undeclared foreign currency.
A passenger was subsequently identified and arrested near the boarding gate. Telecom tracing reportedly placed the caller inside Terminal 3.
Investigators treated the incident as an attempt to delay the flight following the Customs detention.
The case raises a different possibility: instead of protecting hidden contraband, a bomb threat could potentially be used to buy time after Customs action has already begun.
Not every case had a clear connection
The report also looked at a December 2024 incident at Kochi airport involving Air India Express flight IX-412 to Sharjah.
A bomb threat led authorities to isolate the aircraft and conduct extensive baggage screening. During the operation, Customs officers recovered 3.2 kg of methaqualone tablets, valued at around ₹3.2 crore.
The drugs were reportedly hidden inside double-bottomed suit bags.
But investigators could not conclusively establish that the bomb threat had been made as part of the smuggling attempt. Because of this, the report treated the connection as probable rather than confirmed.
This distinction is important because the discovery of contraband after a bomb threat does not automatically prove that the two events were planned together.
Emergency deboarding can also change the situation
A similar question arose in a January 24, 2025 case involving SpiceJet flight SG-88 from Chennai to Bangkok.
The bomb threat led to emergency deboarding. During the resulting operation, Customs officers recovered 40,000 cigarette sticks and 650 grams of gold bangles.
The bangles had reportedly been coated with silver paint. Two passengers allegedly left shoulder bags near the area where passengers were being deboarded.
The seized goods were valued at around ₹52 lakh.
The report identifies such situations as another possible weakness that criminals could try to exploit. When passengers are suddenly removed from an aircraft and baggage is being checked under emergency conditions, the situation can become confusing.
How the tactic could work
Based on the cases examined, the report points to four possible ways a bomb hoax could be used in connection with smuggling.
A threat could be made near a hidden package to keep people away from the location.
It could be used to delay or hold a flight after Customs has detained a suspected smuggler or accomplice.
It could trigger emergency deboarding and additional baggage checks, creating confusion around passengers and luggage.
Or, if several threats are made, security personnel could be pulled towards aircraft isolation and bomb-threat responses, potentially leaving fewer resources available to monitor other parts of an airport.
These are possible methods identified by the report, not proof that every such threat was planned by smugglers.
Bomb threats had already risen sharply
The concern comes at a time when aviation bomb threats have increased significantly.
According to Ministry of Civil Aviation data cited in the report, India recorded 4 incidents in 2020, 2 in 2021, 13 in 2022 and 71 in 2023.
The period from October 2024 to April 2025 then saw another major wave of bomb-threat hoaxes, affecting more than 80 flights across domestic and international routes.
The report says the overwhelming majority of these were malicious hoaxes intended to disrupt aviation operations.
There was, however, another earlier example that shows how a security scare can lead to the discovery of hidden contraband.
In a 2020 Hyderabad airport case, a package was treated as a possible explosive device and examined by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad. The search instead uncovered 1.5 kg of gold bars hidden inside an electric motor.
A warning for airport security
The findings do not suggest that bomb threats should automatically be treated as smuggling attempts. Instead, they highlight a possible area that security agencies may need to consider while responding to such incidents.
A fake bomb threat can already cause major disruption. It can stop flights, force passengers to leave aircraft, trigger baggage searches and require large numbers of security personnel to respond.
If criminals learn to use that disruption as part of another crime, the threat becomes more complicated.
The report therefore calls for stronger coordination between CISF, airport police, Customs Air Intelligence Units and bomb-disposal teams during aircraft isolation, baggage screening, emergency deboarding and other security operations.
The key message is not that every bomb threat hides contraband. It is that a small number of cases have shown enough of a possible connection to make the smuggling angle worth investigating.
For airport authorities, that could mean looking beyond the immediate question of whether a bomb exists — and also asking whether the chaos created by a false threat is being used for another purpose.
