US national detained at Siliguri airport over possession of satellite phone

 The detainee, Thomas, admitted to the authorities that he was unaware that such a satellite phone was prohibited for civilians in India.

 The US citizen was detained at Bagdogra airport in Siliguri over possession of a satellite phone. (Screengrab)

Suryagni Roy, India Today, Siliguri, Jan 21, 2023: CISF officials at Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri detained a United States national for allegedly carrying a satellite phone inside the airport. The arrested US resident, who has been identified as 45-year-old Thomas Isro Sage. The contentious item was recovered when a CISF official checked his baggage. It was an Iridium satellite phone manufactured by a Chinese company, as per sources.

The person was detained by security officials who seized the satellite phone after Thomas allegedly failed to produce valid documents. An investigation was launched after the detainee was handed over to Bagdogra Police for further probe. He was arrested after being questioned by the police.

As per army sources, the US company Shield AI and an Indian company JSW were jointly working on drone training for the Indian Army. The US national arrived in India on January 12 to provide training on how to conduct better surveillance using drones, especially in border areas.

He was in the Lachen area of North Sikkim. After training on Friday, he arrived at Bagdogra Airport to catch his flight to Delhi and return to the US.

Thomas admitted to the authorities that he was unaware that such a satellite phone was prohibited for civilians in India. However, ignorance of the law is not an excuse as per laws in the country. Accordingly, his passport and visa were confiscated.

On Saturday, the Bagdogra Police filed a case against the American citizen under the Indian Penal Code and sent him to the Siliguri court. The court released him and ordered that if required, Thomas should be intervened through video calls.