KOCHI:Smuggling of gold into the country through foreign destinations, especially from Middle Asian nations, has always been a cause of worry for security agencies more so in Kerala, which forms a large share of the NRIs across the globe. But recent revelations on the new trends in gold smuggling made by The Sunday Standard has exposed some major chinks in the airport security armour in the country.
The Cochin Customs have intensified raids at the airports from last month following SS report that gold smuggling syndicates have been smuggling in tonnes of gold in collusion with the security staff deputed at airports by various agencies. The Customs has also arrested 28 persons, including 25 ground-handling staff, at the Cochin International Airport for facilitating gold smuggling through the domestic terminal. Those arrested have confessed to having smuggled in over 400kg of gold in the last few months.
Various Customs agencies altogether seized 250.88kg of gold from carriers in the last financial year and arrested 104 persons. Of the 475 post-seizure gold raids conducted last year, 178 were in Kerala.
Apart from this, of the total gold smuggling cases reported from the airports in Kerala in recent years, over 80 per cent were directly or indirectly linked to the ground-handling staff or the contractual employees.
Joint Director, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Ananthakrishnan said though the involvement of airport staff in gold smuggling was not a new trend, the gravity of the situation, revealed after the arrest of around 25 ground-handling staff at the Cochin airport, was shocking. They could even bring in explosives with the same ease by cashing in on the grim security scenario and their privileges as airport staff, he pointed out.
A senior Special Intelligence and Investigation Branch official who made the arrests said the staff were paid by smugglers based on the risk they took.
If a staffer carried the contraband from the landing bay of the airport, where the carriers hand over the consignments to them, till outside the airport, he gets at least Rs 75,000 for every 2 kg of gold. If he needs more staff support, the amount is shared.
K N Raghavan, Commissioner of Customs, said the investigation into the case related to the ground-handling staff was on and the extent of their network could be confirmed once the detailed investigation got over.
A C K Nair, Airport Director, CIAL, said, “We have directed the private agencies which recruit the staff to be vigilant against criminal elements. The agencies will be held responsible if the recruits violate airport security rules.”
