CHENNAI: Indian customs has arrested a retired lieutenant colonel of Indian Army and four others on charges of smuggling of gold bars through the Chennai air cargo office at Chennai Airport and seized 6kg of gold bars worth 1.8 crore from them.
The smugglers concealed the gold bars inside a biscuit parcel and kept at the air cargo office. Customs officials, who were maintaining surveillance at the cargo office, found a security guard entering the cold storage area and taking the gold bars. Customs officers sleuths nabbed the suspect and based on his confession, arrested four more people including a ground handling agent called Ganesan. Officers said Ganesan, a retired lieutenant colonel who was heading a private security agency to which the cold storage guarding was outsourced for the past 18 months.
An officer said Ganesan confessed to be party to smuggling. The five men were remanded in judicial custody after being produced before a magistrate. Customs sources said based on a tip they recovered gold bars from a parcel smuggled from Singapore to Chennai by Tiger Airways flight (TR-2632) on April 9. The consignment was kept in the cold storage area.
Cutoms officials nabbed the first man when he came out of the storage area with the gold bars. Inquiries revealed that a field officer belonging to the same security firm, who was sitting at the CCTV control room of the cargo complex, gave instructions to another security person to remove the contraband.
Chennai airport has been one of the major entry points of smuggled gold in the southern region. While several carriers have been arrested in the recent years for smuggling in small quantities of gold concealed in their bags and bodies, the cargo complex has come under the scanner for bigger consignments of illegal gold.
Sources said rackets have been at work at the airport, facilitating smugglers and even taking active part in the illegal practice. There have been instances of big consignments of gold being left behind in bags in the cabin and the toilet on board planes after the smugglers got whiff of security agencies getting information about the smuggling.
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