A US national and his companion were detained at Srinagar International Airport on Sunday after a GPS device suspected to be a satellite communicator was found in his luggage, police officers said on Sunday.
The two were questioned by airport security and later handed over to the police for further investigation. The police later confirmed that the suspected device was found from one of the individual’s luggage, the officers said.
Officials said that the US national is from Montana while his companion is originally from Kolkata but currently lives in the US. They were reportedly travelling from Srinagar to Delhi, the officers said.
“The two individuals have not been arrested yet but have been detained for questioning,” said M Adil, police officer at Police Post Humhama.
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He said that the alleged device triggered suspicion that it could be a satellite phone. Satellite phones such as Thurraya or Iridium are not allowed in border states such as Jammu and Kashmir without prior authorisation.
“Preliminary probe suggests that it was not a satellite phone but a GPS device,” the officer said.
Adil said the two would be let off soon. “No FIR has been registered so far and we have found nothing suspicious in their luggage,” he said.
