Two havaldars of Central Customs Department working at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad were arrested by Telangana Prohibition and Excise officials in an imported liquor scam on Thursday.
Two more Customs officials are likely to be arrested while 266 imported liquor bottles were seized during raids conducted at different places based on the information given by the arrested duo.
“There is involvement of some RGIA staff members in the racket as well. After gathering evidence, their staffers too would be arrested,” P&E Director Akun Sabharwal told The Hindu .
It was a scam of purchasing imported liquor bottles of top brands from the duty free shops inside the airport and selling them to private persons through brokers, he said.
The Customs officials at the airport are assisted, in discharging their duties, by contingent support staff comprising private persons.
Scanning passports
When passengers from abroad land at the airport and come for customs clearance, the contingent staff members take them to the duty free shop and get their passports scanned. “This is done at the instance of Customs officials with unsuspecting passengers and those not familiar with the real system of customs clearance,” an investigator said.
At the end of the day, all the scanned passport copies are collected and using them, imported liquor bottles are purchased from the duty free shop. Each passenger is permitted to buy two foreign liquor bottles at the duty free shop.
Tax exemption
The liquor price would be far less than the market price because of the tax exemption. “On an average, a minimum of 100 bottles are purchased each day in this fashion and taken out with the help of Customs officials,” Mr. Sabharwal said.
Two gangs of brokers are associated with the group of Customs officials involved in the scam.
“They would sell the foreign liquor to private persons and make money,” the investigators said. A key broker escaped by pushing aside the P&E officials when they raided his house in the early hours in the city.
Hunt is on for him and others involved in the scam. P&E officials suspect the scam had been going for the past several years and the amount involved was also too high. “The 266 foreign liquor bottles we seized on Thursday were purchased the previous day only. That shows how big the racket was,” they said.
