CHENNAI: A recent directive of the principal commissioner of Chennai Customs asking all officials posted at the city’s international airport to avoid using cell phones during shift hours has blown the lid off the officer-gold smuggler nexus, sources said.
The instruction was allegedly given over suspicions regarding the collusion between a section of customs officers and smugglers. This comes after the agency cracked down on various nexuses involving smugglers and airport contract staff.
According to multiple sources, smugglers have ‘gifted’ smartphones with international SIM cards to a few officials to ensure the smooth passage of their carriers (kuruvis) who smuggle gold from countries like UAE, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
The calls are made using encrypted applications like Telegram, Signal and Facetime to inform the officials in advance about the incoming carriers, while WhatsApp is used for messaging, sources said.
Giving a separate phone with a foreign SIM card would ensure two things-- Indian intelligence agencies which keep an eye on these central government officials would not be able to track them as these numbers are not registered in the latter’s names and the agencies would face difficulties in obtaining information from foreign telecom companies, sources added.
The higher officials in customs have issued warnings in the past about such ‘undesirable’ activities of officers who take calls from ‘suspicious’ entities. In the previous orders, officers have been directed to use only those phones and SIM cards which are linked to their service IDs while on duty.
However, the latest order has asked them to avoid using any phones during work hours. It has also directed officers to avoid leaving the airport terminals without prior permission during shift hours, sources added.
The gold smuggling kingpins keep track of customs officers and contact those who are in dire need of quick money, for example, to settle expensive medical bills for family members or fund a relative’s foreign education.
Sources, who keep track of the smuggling trade at the airport, said that there are two broad ways in which this nexus works, which are coded as ‘Setting’ and ‘Janata’. In the former, a smuggler negotiates the bribe rates with the corrupt official who ensures safe passage, while in the latter, a rate is negotiated at the airport after the carriers land. At least two detailed complaints highlighting this nexus at the airport have been given to top officials recently, copies of which are with TNIE.