SINGAPORE - A Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew member has been arrested in India for allegedly smuggling gold.

The senior steward - believed to be Singaporean - was arrested by Indian customs officers on Monday (Jan 22) at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

SIA confirmed to The Straits Times that a member of its cabin crew operating on flight SQ402 on Jan 22 was detained by Delhi Customs authorities.

"SIA will provide full cooperation to the investigating authorities. We are unable to provide details of the crew member concerned due to confidential reasons," it added.

The airport's Joint Commissioner of Customs Anubha Singh told Indian media that officers intercepted the SIA steward, who had arrived from Singapore. "We searched him and recovered 1,048g of gold," he said.

Initial investigations revealed that the crew member had intended to hand over the gold, worth about S$65,000, to an agent at a prominent hotel in Delhi.

"He would get S$500 for this," a senior official said, adding that the crew had worn the gold items - a chain and a bangle - under his uniform.

He is believed to have committed a similar offence on Jan 8 but was not caught then, the Indian Express reported.