Joint Commissioner, Customs, Aneish Rajan, on Wednesday expressed concern that international smuggling networks appeared to be increasingly recruiting Kerala youth as carriers.
Addressing a conference on “Combating Smuggling, Counterfeiting and Piracy” here on Wednesday, Mr. Rajan, said revoking the passports of habitual couriers was as a sure-fire method to whittle down their ranks and deter prospective ones.
He said a large segment of persons caught as couriers were Kerala youth. However, they were just a fraction of the real number that slipped through Customs check posts undetected.
Most worked for gold smuggling networks that constantly updated their methods to fox law enforcers. Some were independent operators seeking to subsidise their air travel by smuggling in small quantities of bullion.
Most Customs arrests, around 1,015 in 2017, were based on actionable intelligence, some of it generated overseas.
Investigators also resorted to predictive profiling to flag potential carriers among air passengers. Air travel manifestos and passport details were often a giveaway. Enforcers also leaned on behavioural clues, such as signs of anxiety and unusual gait, to zero in on couriers concealing contraband. However, these methods were not foolproof in crowded airport environments.
Agriculture Minister V. S. Sunil Kumar said smuggling was a threat to national security. He said foreign cigarettes were smuggled into India in large quantities.
ADGP Sudheesh Kumar said counterfeit products were almost the norm in the vast market for automobile parts. IG, Crime Branch, S. Sreejith, said swarming markets with counterfeit products was against national interest.
The event was organised by FICCI.
Sanjay. M. Kaul. Secretary Industries, S. N. Reghuchandran Nair, president, Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shibu Prabhakaran, president, Kerala Chamber of Commerce and P. Jayakrishnan, secretary, Bar Association, Thiruvananthapuram were among those who spoke.
