Rs 2.5-crore haul of contraband consignment

Sources point out that the same syndicate based in the Far East which is believed to be behind the disappearance of 68 contraband consignments earlier could be behind this as well, as the consignment came from the same location – Hong Kong. Even the earlier consignment seized by the customs on June 17 had some watch movements along with some gold and computer parts.

According to sources, the consignment is suspected to have brought in illegally from Hong Kong on an Air India flight. The consignment was detected by the officials of the customs preventive during a routine search of the tramac area. Customs officials at the Airport are tight-lipped about the whole issue. Customs commissioner, Vijay Zutshi was not available for her comments. Additional commissioner,(Airport), D.D. Ingty when contacted said, “That the matter was under investigation.”

Investigations by Express Newsline reveal that the consignment was lying on the tarmac and officials suspect that like previous consignments it would also have vanished from the airport if it had not been detected. Further investigations have revealed that the consignment was brought in without proper papers and even the mandatory manifest was missing, which has made matters complicated for the investigating officers as there is no clue of the consignee in this case.

“This appears to be a part of a bigger conspiracy and some syndicate seems to be involved,” the source said adding that there is a strong possibility that the earlier consignments were taken out either in a vehicle from the tarmac area or they might have been mixed with consignments which were cleared legally and then taken out.

Officials at the airport point out that there is always hectic activity at the tarmac and both the cargo terminal and passenger terminal fall under the same operational area. “It is possible, now that cases of disappearance of the contraband has come to light from the cargo area that the smugglers have sought to try out a different modus operandi this time,” the official added.

Sources disclosed that a number of vehicles go into the operational area. These include vehicles of the airlines, in-flight catering, mail, ambulances, courier companies and those of various other agencies. There is a strong possibility that the consignments were taken out in one of these vehicles.

Customs have also questioned the airline officials but no headway has been made so far. What has made the issue more complicated is that these cases point to a serious security breach at the airport.