KOCHI: While smuggling rackets are making attempts to breach surveillance and security nets at airports and border posts, there is a spurt in the number of seizures of contraband, including drugs and foreign currencies sneaked through post offices. Items like LSD to an unassembled rifle were recovered at the Foreign Post Office (FPO) in Kochi in the first six months of this year.
The FPO in Kochi is one among the five of its kind in India which come under the Office of Exchange category, with Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and New Delhi having the others. The parcels and letters from abroad first land at the Office of Exchange where the Customs Unit scans it before sending it to normal FPOs which are 13 in number located all over India.
From January to June this year, the Customs units deployed at FPO in Kochi made as many as 42 seizures. They include 19 seizures of foreign and Indian currencies, 20 cases of narcotic substances, including cocaine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and Hashish, two cases of wildlife products and one of an unassembled automatic rifle. Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said smugglers frequently attempt to send narcotic products through the postal route.
“In one case, we recovered 300 cocaine-filled capsules. One parcel had more than 100 LSD stamps. Another parcel received in February this year had 150 drug ampules. We also recovered a parcel having hashish bars. After the seizure, we hand over the cases to our Preventive Unit for further investigation. Narcotic products worth more than Rs 4 crore were seized this year,” he said.
FPO eyes office space at CIAL
Customs also frequently recover foreign and Indian currencies, which are often in small amounts. Similarly, the officers also recovered White Peacock feathers and exotic wood chips.“In most of the cases, the person sending the parcel would be providing a bogus address of the person who is to receive the post. In some of the cases, our team could successfully trace out the person. In one case, we found the LSD stamps were to be received by a student of a premier institute in north Kerala,” said Kumar.
The Customs has installed two parcel scanners at the FPO to trace contraband arriving from abroad. Similarly, the officers with vast experience are deployed to check parcels. The Foreign Post Office is looking to shift from its current office at the YMCA building at Chittoor Road.
“We have asked for space at the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL). To carry out repair work, the YMCA has asked to shift the office from its building. The office at CIAL would ease our operations and screening works as all the foreign posts and parcels arrive through the airport,” he said.
At a glance
The FPO in Kochi is one among the five of its kind in India
From January to June this year, the Customs units deployed at FPO in Kochi made as many as 42 seizures
Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said smugglers frequently attempt to send narcotic products through the postal route