An NYPD officer is being held in India after being caught with bullets in his luggage at an airport.
The Daily Intelligencer reports that Manny Encarnacion, a cop with the 25th Precinct in East Harlem, was arrested at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Dehli on March 11 after three bullets were discovered in a jacket pocket. The finding violated India's Arms Act of 1959, and though the 49-year-old—who was visiting his wife—has been granted bail, he must stay in India until this legal mess is sorted out.
According to the NYPD, Encarnacion visited the firing range prior to departing for India, and simply forgot the bullets were in his pocket. Some feel that his detainment is retaliation for the arrest of DevyaniKhobragade, an Indian U.N. official based in New York who authorities say lied on a visa application and mistreated her housekeeper.
According to CBS New York, a police source claimed that an officer told Encarnacion "You are a New York City policeman who likes to strip-search our diplomats" as he was being arrested.
Encarnacion's friends say that, while this is an obvious inconvenience, the officer is getting to spend more time with his wife, who is studying in Iran.
[via Daily Intelligencer and CBS New York]
