KOCHI: Faking labels and using these in luggage wrapping machines at Kochi airport to siphon off money from the company which has taken the contract of the job. This may sound unbelievable, but the police have launched a probe into the incident after the owner of Speed Wings Services, which has the contract, lodged a complaint with Nedumbassery police against four of his staff for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 30 lakh to the firm in a period of six months using fake labels.
“We arrested manager Rahul R of Kollam based on the complaint. Though he was under remand from April 23, a court granted him bail a few days back,” said a police officer. As per the case, the four employees, engaged in wrapping of baggage in the airport, fabricated labels of the firm in an unauthorised manner at a printing press in Manjummel and used the labels for sticking these on luggage wrapped using the wrapping machines.
The police said the accused used the fake labels to manipulate the accounts and collect the service fee without billing it for the firm. “My firm has been operating the luggage wrapping service at the airport for quite some time. The staff colluded with each other and committed the fraud,” said complainant Sanilkumar B.
Meanwhile, the accused staff have approached police saying it was a totally fabricated case. They alleged that the company owner foisted false charges on them after they unearthed certain irregularities committed by him and sent an email to Kochi airport authorities about it on November 27, 2021.