New rules at airport to curb smuggling

With reports that officials working in the Immigration wing of the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery may be involved in gold smuggling, new rules have been put in place to curb smuggling.

The public have been prohibited from bringing luggage into the Immigration area and the portion of the airport is under strict scrutiny. “The Immigration area is very busy during peak hours and it becomes very difficult to keep a watch on every person. The new restriction is in place to improve security and prevent smuggling of gold,” said a Customs official.

Role of insiders

Two sub inspectors placed in the Immigration wing had been arrested a week ago on charge of facilitating gold smuggling. A few days after their arrest, about 300 grams of gold was found lying unattended near the Immigration wing, raising suspicions that more insiders may be involved in facilitating smuggling. The gold was found in an area that is frequented by personnel of both the Immigration and Customs departments.

“With increased security in the area, whoever brought the gold may have gotten cold feet and decided to abandon it,” said the official. The Central Bureau of Investigation is also probing the involvement of airport insiders in gold smuggling. Surveillance and monitoring of employees and passengers had also been increased to prevent such incidents in the future.