Day after, two guards man closed cargo gates

Mumbai: The heist at Mumbai airport on Monday has left police as well as the airline security confounded with the ease at which it was done. Even 24 hours later, the cops are clueless about the identity of the four masked robbers and investigations are coughing up only loopholes in security. However, on Tuesday TOI spotted two guards at the main gate who refused to accept "I want to go to the union office'' (the cargo area houses the union office) as a reason to allow entry. The main gate, always open, was shut for a change.
Dilip Borkar, the gold refinery employee who was carrying the consignment to be sent to Hyderabad, had told TOI that when he had entered the AI cargo premises, no one checked his identity or booking proof with the airline. "I just pointed to the boxes saying I had to deliver the consignment and I was let in. No proof or pass was required to get inside,'' said Borkar. Officials of Pidilite Industries, which owned the consignment, said, "We have been sending similar consignments the same way for seven years and never has such a thing happened. Also, we were never required to get a pass or register anything at the entrance.''
Zonal deputy commissioner of police Nisar Tamboli, has formed a team to investigate the the robbery. "It will take some time to get leads. The airlines have been asked to be more vigilant and install CCTV cameras,'' he said. The DCP convened a meeting of Jet Airways and Air India officials to discuss the issue.
The absence of any records of vehicles entering or leaving the complex is proving to be a major hurdle in tracing the vehicle.
Senior inspector S M Ghughe said both airlines are checking the whereabouts of their guards at the time of the incident.AI said not many valuable consignments were sent through domestic cargo, hence security was less than at international cargo.
27/05/09 Chinmayi Shalya & Vijay V Singh/Times of India

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Categories: Airports May 2009, Cargo May 2009, Safety May 2009