FBI Officers Check Luggage Of Aeroflot Fight From New York To Moscow - Russian Consulate

NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2020) FBI officers inspected the passengers and their luggage on Sunday's flight from New York to Moscow, causing an hour-long delay, the press secretary for the Russian Consulate General in New York Alexey Topolsky told Sputnik.

"Yesterday, a large group of FBI officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport checked the luggage and passengers of the Aeroflot flight departing to Moscow. This resulted in the flight being delayed for about an hour," Topolsky said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced that the authorities charged a group of ten individuals for allegedly smuggling electronic equipment, particularly Apple products, from the United States to Russia, by using couriers, many of whom were current and former employees of Aeroflot Airlines.

The US Attorney's Office said one of the ten individuals is a resident of Russia.

Topolsky said that the Russian Consulate is investigating whether there are Russian citizens among the the charged individuals.

The United States has revoked the visas of about 113 Aeroflot employees with links to the smuggling scheme.