Pune: Smuggling of banned drugs by the air route has always been a matter of concern for Customs officials at airports across the country. It is the forever changing modus operandi of the smugglers that keeps officials on their toes. Customs sleuths say they are always confronted with novel ways of drug concealment. With the recently announcement of a new air service between Pune and Singapore from December 1, Pune Customs officials are worried that drug smuggling might increase.
“Singapore is also a hub for shopping for travellers. From the Pune airport, we detain passengers, who smuggle gold from Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Now, the announcement of an air service from Singapore is a matter of concern in terms of starting of drug peddling,” said a highly placed officer from Customs. “We cannot say that gold smuggling will not happen from Singapore, but from past experiences, we have seen that a lot of drug smugglers were held at different airports across the country,” said the officer.
Singapore is known for its strict Misuse of Drugs Act and punishes possession of even minuscule amounts of illegal drugs while it prescribes execution if you are found guilty of carrying large amounts of particular types of drugs. However, there are many cases of passengers coming via Singapore and being held at airports here with banned drugs.
The officials are also not refuting that gold smuggling will stop from Singapore. The officer said that with the demand for gold increasing in the country, a majority of gold from Dubai and Singapore is being smuggled into India due to the price differentiation.
Gold and narcotics operate as two different syndicates but gold smuggling has become more profitable and fashionable. It is well known that heroin is smuggled into India from the notorious Golden Triangle - a mountainous opium/heroin - producing region in South East Asia covering areas of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride (PH)-content drugs manufactured in India are being smuggled to South East countries.
