Customs to frisk all ground staff to keep a check on smuggling

new delhi: Coming across several cases of smuggling where ground staff were involved, the Delhi Customs has now started frisking them during their entry or exit at the airport.

On December 6, the Customs at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) had arrested two people, one was a crew member and the other was an employee of the courier company, with gold worth over Rs 72 lakh.

Customs, in several cases, found the role of ground staff who were acting as handlers for smugglers in gold trafficking at IGIA. "We find it a matter of grave concern. To curb this, we have planned to frisk ground staff. We have been carrying out a regular check to keep untoward activities at bay," the official said.

The Customs department has already raised the matter with the concerned authorities and told them to conduct proper verification of the staff and has also asked them to keep tabs on their

activities.

According to Customs, they have written to Air India SATS (AISATS), an airport service provider and Air India, where they have sought details regarding the action taken against their staff members who were found to be involved in cases booked by the Customs.

One Custom official said that these handlers get money as per the work, the quantity of gold. "Some get in between

Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for trafficking inside the airport but those handlers who are carrying gold from other countries get a good amount," the official said.