NEW DELHI: India customs seized 365kg gold worth Rs 1 billion at Chennai airport till December 2014 as against 113kg worth Rs 350 million last year.
The increase in seizure is due to high surveillance. We seized gold from passengers, from planes and airport building. More personnel will be inducted into customs at airport and cargo soon. Additional manpower has been sanctioned,” said S Ramesh, chief commissioner of customs, Chennai, after inaugurating a sensitization programme for customs personnel and staff of other agencies organized to mark International Customs Day on Tuesday.
The airport is popular among gold smugglers because of the good connectivity to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo and Dubai from where majority of the smuggled gold is sourced.
Air customs have started to profile passengers, gather intelligence to bust smuggling rackets. “High checks were the reason for smugglers to abandon gold at waste bins and toilets at the terminal,” said a customs official.
The airport currently has 194 customs personnel. K Chandrasekhar, commissioner of customs, Chennai airport said that, “security is an issue that concerns customs as trade increases. Security, drugs, loss of revenue is involved in border management.” A coordinated approach of all agencies involved in border control will help efficiently manage trade and traveller flow while maintaining a balance with security needs.”
