Courier most preferred mode of trafficking now: Customs officials

These are the latest incidents of drug trafficking unearthed by Customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

May 7,2009: A toy teddy bear was on its way to Vancouver from Delhi in a DTDC courier packet. It,however,caught the attention of Customs officials while passing through the ion scan machine at the New Courier Terminal at IGI Airport. The teddy,it was discovered,was hiding in its belly 875 grams of narcotics. The captured heroin,valued at Rs 90 lakh,had been booked with a fake name and address. After the department got in touch with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence,investigations led officers to one Harpal Singh in Ludhiana,who was arrested.
May 9: Customs officials seized a packet of brown chocolate bound for Holland. The chocolates proved to be quite costlyRs 2 lakhand the brand was found to be hashish. The consigners address was in Goa.
May 15: An NRI passenger,Joginder Singh,who had a US passport,was arrested with a box of muscle building powder. He was found to have mixed opium with the substance. The 5.5-kg consignment was valued at Rs 10 lakh.

These are the latest incidents of drug trafficking unearthed by Customs officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Smuggling drugs out of India through courier or air cargo may not be a very new idea,but Customs officials say it surely is the most preferred means these days and the trend is growing at an alarming rate. Reason: The high volume of consignments handled by courier companies makes detection a difficult job.

According to Customs officials,the probability of being caught in this mode of trafficking is minimal,and even if one or two consignments are intercepted,it doesnt make much of a difference to the senders.

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Courier consignments provide anonymity to the senders who provide fictitious identities most of the time.

Though the ion-scan machines installed at the airport a year ago alert officials about anything suspicious being couriered,they cannot completely detect narcotics.

The NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) is aware of the trend and we are working very closely with courier companies and sensitising them. The volume of courier cargo is very high,leaving less chances of detection, says A P Sidiqqui,deputy director,Intelligence and Investigations wing of the NCB.

Customs officials said the new trend was also being monitored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Its regional office for Southeast Asia in Delhi said the latest trend had been noticed and was being monitored by the organisation very closely. The UNODC is interacting with all the agencies,including the Customs department and the NCB. They have been asked to remain vigilant and take proper measures, said Rajiv Walia,regional programme coordinator,UNODC.

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He said the measures were being taken at two levelssensitising the companies that provide courier services and enforcement.

Walia said this mode was preferred by traffickers because it carried less risksthere is little likelihood of anyone getting caught.

The consignee can protect his identity by producing fake details. Even if one or two samples are caught,it is not really much of a loss to anyone.

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