The Hindu : 'Carriers' and contraband

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 12, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

'Carriers' and contraband

By T.S. Shankar

Foreign goods still hold a lot of attraction for those who want to buy the "latest". Much as the multinational brands open glittering stores to offer their gizmos in the metro, the man on the street is aware that the "latest" is still not legally available.

Enter the "carriers", or as the Customs personnel like to describe them, the "kuruvis" (carrier birds).

These frequent fliers clad in nondescript clothes including lungis and sporting nothing more than a small duffel bag, board planes for Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, returning just a few days later, with a plethora of goods in huge cartons, or simply wrapped in a shabby cloth.

Standing between these carriers and the eager customers who are willing to pay a fat price, are the Customs personnel, scanning the slightest awkward movements, as the passengers come into the hall.

A faltering step or a nervous gait, or searching eyes, is enough indication that the carrier has something more than the innocuous things that he has declared.

It then becomes a test of wits, "negotiation" and payment of duty for some of the goods, before the merchandise can reach the pigeon-hole shops of Burma Bazaar.

The famed Burma Bazaar was started as a scheme to rehabilitate refugees from Burma, and over the years of the import quota raj, became the only place where a consumer could get a feel of an "international market" and buy foreign consumer goodies.

When a flight arrives, the Air Intelligence Unit gets active. Relatives and visitors who turn up at the arrival hall of the Anna International Terminal become restless as the clock ticks away. All eyes are glued on the Customs examination hall where the officials get organised, for a strict vigil over the "vulnerable points" at the terminal building and at exit gates.

It is a war of wits — and invariably the contraband smugglers have an edge over their busters, inventing ingenious methods of smuggling. The officials on duty must look for hidden things in anything, ranging from cigarette packets to milk powder cans.

After the import quotas disappeared on most things, the Burma Bazaar traffic in imported goods has turned to the latest in technology — latest models in electronics, cameras and hobby goods, to cellphones, calculators, digital diaries, and computer mother boards and processors.

If they go on two trips a month, these traders on an average earn about Rs. 5,000 to 8,000 to eke out a living, say the general secretary, Burma Tamizhar Marumalarchi Sangam and Burma Bazaar, K.A. Shahul Hameed, and the president, S.K.M. Yosuf.

"Though the trade is still thriving, our existence hinges on the support of the several Central and State Government law enforcement agencies and for the past eight months, it has been tough going," said Mr. Hameed. The age group of the traders ranges between 22 and 35 with an education profile of even graduates and polytechnics to school dropouts. "Ours is a registered sangam since 1966 and we currently have over 100 shops on Rajaji Salai with over 1,100 members, making up Burma Bazaar.''

"Our existence though has a long history since 1960s. The mushrooming of shopping malls in the city has cut into the business especially with the cheap imported goods sold from China and Malaysia," says D. Selvaraj, treasurer.

The hide and seek game played by the carriers and the agencies came into full view of the public, when the Burma Bazaar traders hit the headlines after clashing with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials during a surprise check at the AIT. A 24-member group had landed from Singapore and the confrontation ended in violent scenes, and breaking of all glasspanes of the present international terminal.

To this, Mr. Hameed said: "We (Burma Bazaar traders) were wrongly dragged into this episode. None of those arrested was our member and they belonged to some people operating from Triplicane".

What puzzled the entire city was the vandalism by some persons in a high security area such as the Chennai airport. The fact that some traders and their agents did not think twice about staging a violent protest, showed that they were emboldened by some murky dealings, which might prove embarrassing to those in the authority, should a thorough enquiry be held.

The DRI and Customs officials, however, say they are ever watchful. "We have an informal string of informers who are in constant touch with our Customs network especially the intelligence unit. We act in close liaison with these informers and in course of time develop the sources and act swiftly on such specific information to pin down the smugglers," say the sources.

"We have a passenger profiling system and follow various complex criteria to nab these traders and initiate punitive action including recommending booking them under the COFEPOSA (Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities) if he or she is a habitual offender," say customs preventive officers.

Only when the duty rates fall even further for most of the consumer goods, the handy computer and digital equipment, will the carriers move to full declaration and legal imports.

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