Kochi: Security personnel at airports look for gold rods, sheets, and bricks hidden inside everyday objects carried by passengers. The Customs Department recently found a suspicious pancake maker in the luggage of a Thrissur-native who arrived here from Malaysia. Officials smashed open the pancake maker and out popped two gold bricks, each weighing a kilogram.
Those working to prevent smuggling have to stay ahead of smugglers by gathering information about potential smuggling activities.
Searching for hidden gold among the luggage of hundreds of passengers is akin to hunting for a needle in a haystack. Customs officials at Nedumbassery found gold concealed inside the beading of a passenger’s bags more than a month ago. At Karipur airport too, vigilant security personnel found melted gold inside an iron box.
“All our personnel are instructed to be very careful when screening passengers’ luggage during security clearance. We may also get new screening machines for improved security,” said Customs Deputy Commissioner S.A.S. Navaz.
These concealment techniques, however, are nothing new to senior officials in the Customs Department. “We’ve seen all these tricks, and some more, being employed by smugglers in the pre-1991 era. The younger officers are now being trained at spotting these too,” said Mr. Navaz.
01/03/14 Nidhi Surendranath/The Hindu
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Those working to prevent smuggling have to stay ahead of smugglers by gathering information about potential smuggling activities.
Searching for hidden gold among the luggage of hundreds of passengers is akin to hunting for a needle in a haystack. Customs officials at Nedumbassery found gold concealed inside the beading of a passenger’s bags more than a month ago. At Karipur airport too, vigilant security personnel found melted gold inside an iron box.
“All our personnel are instructed to be very careful when screening passengers’ luggage during security clearance. We may also get new screening machines for improved security,” said Customs Deputy Commissioner S.A.S. Navaz.
These concealment techniques, however, are nothing new to senior officials in the Customs Department. “We’ve seen all these tricks, and some more, being employed by smugglers in the pre-1991 era. The younger officers are now being trained at spotting these too,” said Mr. Navaz.
01/03/14 Nidhi Surendranath/The Hindu
