CUSTOMS KEEP TAB ON SPECIFIC GROUPS

Passengers from Karnataka, Kerala and Maha on radar

The flight history of passengers, the origin of the passport, the next travel destination after landing at the airport, are things that Customs officials analyse while checking out passengers who engage in gold smuggling.

Customs officials say overseas air travellers from some villages in Karnataka, Kerala and Maharashtra are always on their radar. All passengers from these communities, irrespective of history, will be screened.

“They are experts in this profession and are into this business since decades.”

Tracking agencies have a strong intelligence network that includes agencies like the Customs, DRI, Police, Emigration and an informer chain spread across different locations to share information on smuggling.

“If any passenger from any of these communities land at airports, he will be intercepted irrespective of his profession and questioned. It becomes tough when officials tackle genuine businessmen, entrepreneurs, techies etc who also travel frequently,” customs sources said.

“In cities like Dubai, informers are more active in the areas where gold shops are located and are frequented by Indian buyers. They follow their movements closely and tip off their counterparts in India,” a retired emigration official said.

Customs officials say that though they act on the basis of tip off in many cases, they also follow other techniques to zero in on suspects. These techniques, however, may not always apply to seasoned and notorious smugglers who know how to react when in trouble and who can get help from their contacts in various departments in the airport.

“It is difficult to identify such men, but based on an assessment of their body language or physical movements, they can be trapped,” they said.

Officials say that in addition to technical support, human Intelligence plays a major role in identifying such people. “Every baggage that is scanned will be reflected on the screen. For different metals, the screen displays images in different wave-lenghths. Based on the fluctuations of the screen, an officer can identify what’s the metal hidden in the baggage. An experienced officer can easily locate even a single gram of gold in the baggage,” a source from RGI airport said.

CUSTOMS says that though they mainly depend on tip-offs, they also have other ways to zero in on suspects

WAYS GALORE:

The various shapes in which gold is smuggled into airports across the country. — DC