THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Valiyathura police on Thursday arrested four persons in connection with the theft attempt of air cargo at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport the other day.
Sukhil, 23, Prasad, 23, Rajesh Zavier, 22, and Sibin, 22, were those arrested. While the first three are temporary employees with Air India SATS, the fourth is working at a studio in Valiyathura, police said.
Three cartons containing electric fans and vacuum cleaners were found outside the airport wall on Sunday morning, which were abandoned by the thieves after the cargo complex employees raised an alert.
Though the accused said that it was their first attempt, the police have not confirmed this. ‘’We are investigating whether they were carrying out this for quite sometime,’’ said Sajin Louis, Valiyathura sub-inspector.
‘’A racket’s role cannot be overruled and the police are on a detailed probe,’’ he added.
Security Beefed Up
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at the airport following the theft attempt. The security measures were a follow-up to the joint meeting of the officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), CISF and the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE), which manages the air cargo complex.
‘’Lighting has been improved in the area where the cargo is temporarily kept before transporting it to the cargo complex,’’ said Airport Director D Chandramouli.
‘’It has also been decided not to allow labourers to come beyond 10-15 feet of the cargo complex wall,’’ he added.
The AAI also cleared the waste equipment dumped in the area which helped the miscreants to hide stolen materials. The KSIE also set up additional lighting in the area which lies behind the cargo complex.
The CISF, on its part, has intensified patrolling in the area and the AAI has also asked the state police to conduct regular patrolling on the roads around the airport.