Mumbai: Other than the electricity they consume, the X-ray baggage scanners at the airports are known to suddenly develop an appetite when fed with pricey gadgets, like the new iPhone 6. By the time the distracted passenger learns that the phone has been flicked, the thieving passenger has melted into the crowd.
Passengers stealing at the airport is not new. Passengers absent-mindedly leaving behind their valuables at security counters, restrooms, etc is also not new. What's new is the ingenuity with which the CISF airport security personnel have been using WhatsApp and footage from CCTV cameras to reunite the items with their owners.
Other than the 10-12 theft cases reported per month, the CISF found a total of 5,766 unattended items like mobiles, wallets between May and September at the Mumbai airport. Even if the misplaced item has been flicked by another passenger, you could get it back. "It's our secondary job. Soon after the passenger files a complaint, the search begins. Time is the key," said a CISF official, requesting anonymity. It's the unseen aspect of the job that the airport CISF personnel do. And if they get a lead, they do go to lengths to retrieve the stolen item.
Like the October case of the missing iPhone 6. It was not an easy case as the passenger had reported it missing only a day later. The domestic airport's CCTV footage showed that the phone was stolen by another passenger, a foreigner, at the X-ray scanner. "Based on his movements, we found out about his flight and the airline," the official said. Luckily, on that day, only one foreigner was onboard that flight to Kolkata. The airline provided the passenger's address and it was relayed to the CISF team in Kolkata. "Imagine the passenger's surprise when the CISF team knocked on the door of the guest house he was staying in," he said.
18/11/15 Manju V/Times of India
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Passengers stealing at the airport is not new. Passengers absent-mindedly leaving behind their valuables at security counters, restrooms, etc is also not new. What's new is the ingenuity with which the CISF airport security personnel have been using WhatsApp and footage from CCTV cameras to reunite the items with their owners.
Other than the 10-12 theft cases reported per month, the CISF found a total of 5,766 unattended items like mobiles, wallets between May and September at the Mumbai airport. Even if the misplaced item has been flicked by another passenger, you could get it back. "It's our secondary job. Soon after the passenger files a complaint, the search begins. Time is the key," said a CISF official, requesting anonymity. It's the unseen aspect of the job that the airport CISF personnel do. And if they get a lead, they do go to lengths to retrieve the stolen item.
Like the October case of the missing iPhone 6. It was not an easy case as the passenger had reported it missing only a day later. The domestic airport's CCTV footage showed that the phone was stolen by another passenger, a foreigner, at the X-ray scanner. "Based on his movements, we found out about his flight and the airline," the official said. Luckily, on that day, only one foreigner was onboard that flight to Kolkata. The airline provided the passenger's address and it was relayed to the CISF team in Kolkata. "Imagine the passenger's surprise when the CISF team knocked on the door of the guest house he was staying in," he said.
18/11/15 Manju V/Times of India
