Thiruvananthapuram: Air passengers travelling to foreign destinations from the international airport here can henceforth expect more intense inspection of their baggage.
The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs and Central Excise Department has upped its vigilance at the terminal, which handles at least 45 flights and 5,000 passengers a day, after it thwarted a move to smuggle red sanders in the check-in baggage of three passengers bound for Colombo on board a Sri Lankan airline on February 25.
The Customs had forced the airline to land 20 minutes after it became airborne on the basis of last-minute intelligence received by the AIU. Enforcers detained them and confiscated 100 kg of the contraband.
Customs investigators said they would also monitor airline staff that routinely screened the baggage of passengers at the X-ray scanner at the terminal to detect any possible collusion with lawbreakers.
04/03/14 G Anand/The Hindu
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The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of the Customs and Central Excise Department has upped its vigilance at the terminal, which handles at least 45 flights and 5,000 passengers a day, after it thwarted a move to smuggle red sanders in the check-in baggage of three passengers bound for Colombo on board a Sri Lankan airline on February 25.
The Customs had forced the airline to land 20 minutes after it became airborne on the basis of last-minute intelligence received by the AIU. Enforcers detained them and confiscated 100 kg of the contraband.
Customs investigators said they would also monitor airline staff that routinely screened the baggage of passengers at the X-ray scanner at the terminal to detect any possible collusion with lawbreakers.
04/03/14 G Anand/The Hindu
