Posted by: sajha onion October 28, 2015
Nepali traveler arrested in NY Laguardia Airport for carrying Petroleum containers in Luggage
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New York, NY
October 28th, 2015

Hardik Dixit, hailing from Solukhumbhu district of Nepal, currently in student visa in New York, has been arrested as he was trying to board flight UA 313 to Dubai. His final destination was Kathmandu Nepal.

After Dixit had checked in 2 luggages all the way to Kathmandu, he waited outside his gate 3C which began boarding passengers at 3:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. After showing his identification to the Airline official, as he was walking down the corridor to enter the plane, FBI agents intercepted him on the bridge. According to the statement by FBI, one of the agents had weapon drawn.

Dixit was transported over the the Homeland Security hub at the airport where he was questioned about his strange luggage. Both of his suitcases contained 10 one gallon containers filled with gasoline. This incident has triggered a threat level 2 in the Laguardia Homeland security unit. Upon questioning, the agents were able to find that Dixit was trying to take fuel to Nepal where apparently fuel is not currently accessible. Dixit said, 'When I land in Nepal, my family would come in car to pick me up but they don't have enough gasoline to make it all the way back to my house which is about 30 miles from the airport. Hence, I decided to take some gasoline with me to refuel my car waiting at the Kathmandu airport." He added that his family were not able to afford buying gasoline in the black market at almost $30 per gallon. "I thought it would be better to take gasoline as gift to my family instead of other goods. It is all India's fault because they have blocked all goods at the border."

Homeland Security Officials are currently reaching out to the Embassy of India in Washington DC to verify the claims made by Dixit. It is beleived that Dixit might have to pay hefty fines and spend up to 2 years in prison if he is found guilty.

Hardik Dixit's employer, Mr. Aswin Patel who owns several gas stations in New York was not available for questioning. It is not known whether Dixit took the gas from his place of work.

Reporting live from Laguardia.


Last edited: 28-Oct-15 02:50 PM
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