KOLKATA: In the third such incident this year, an airport ground handling staff was arrested while reportedly trying to smuggle gold from the city airport on Monday.
Three consecutive incidents of smuggling by ground handling staff in the past 10 months have left the security breaches at the airport wide open.
On Monday, Keshab Nayak, a staff with J P Aviation Services Pvt Ltd was intercepted by the air intelligence unit of the city customs that recovered 2kg gold bar, valued at Rs 52 lakh, hidden inside his shoes.
Nayak, who was already under the scanner of customs officials for his suspicious movements, was being tracked for some time. He came to work on Monday morning even though he did not have any scheduled duty. “Not all ground staff members can be roped in by smugglers. But with three consecutive incidents, it seems a sizeable section is involved in it. This is alarming as ground handling staff have access to every point in the airport,” said a customs official.
An official claimed the many of the ground staff tried to sneak out smuggled goods during the rush hour, as most officers were busy at that time. “Our first priority is to check passengers. Taking advantage of it, unscrupulous loaders try to smuggle goods,” he said. In the past month, the air intelligence unit has seized 12.5 kg gold at the airport.
With more and more ground handling staff being arrested for smuggling, security agencies have directed the companies employing them to track their duty roster. Many of them are carriers and do not have access to the core of the racket. “Most of the times, we find that the contact persons in the racket use their sim cards only once to avoid any surveillance,” said a customs official.
