25 June,2011 06:49 AM IST | | Bipin Kumar Singh
Mumbai airport cargo complex, which stores sensitive consignments, is prone to security threats and has seen a spurt in cases of lifting over the years
The spurt of thefts and robberies at the Mumbai Airport Cargo complex has prompted customs officials as well as traders to mount pressure on cargo handlers, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) and Air India, to install CCTV cameras on the premises to ensure that the consignments some of them hazardous and highly sensitive don't fall in the "wrong hands".
"Airport cargo complex is the most sensitive part of the airport premises, but we are sorry to say that it is not well protected like the passengers terminal, which is under round-the-clock electronic surveillance.
Not only have theft cases increased in the cargo section, but also there is improper handling of cargo from the authorities of MIAL and Air India," said an official of a traders' association.
A senior Customs official of the deputy commissioner rank stressed on the need to install CCTV cameras at the cargo complex.
"Airport cargo is one of the places which is under high security threat. If the CCTV cameras are installed, number of thefts will decrease drastically.
Also, the entire premises will be monitored properly and anyone will think twice before picking up any cargo inside the complex."
"We have already informed the authorities about the thefts and have asked them to install the CCTV cameras. The MIAL has started the work, but Air India has said that it will require six months to start the process," added the official
The requirement of installing CCTV cameras was also discussed in several meetings between traders and customs official of the Mumbai airport. Minutes of two such meetings available with MiD DAY stress on the need to install CCTV cameras at the earliest.
Chronology of thefts
The cargo complex has witnessed some high-profile cases of theft in the past.
In May 2009, around three to four armed intruders entered the Air India cargo booking area at the Mumbai airport while Pidilite Industries officials were in the process of booking six parcels of gold and silver coins weighing 145 kg and decamped with the booty.
However, the Crime Branch of the Mumbai police arrested one Suresh Narsingh Kamble (27), an employee of an aviation company that deals in cargo at the international airport, for the robbery in November 2010.
In October 2007, the Mumbai police arrested three workers at the International airport following the mysterious disappearance of diamonds and jewellery worth Rs 4.5 crore from the airport.
In 2008, the police arrested Anand Swamichand (38) and Dashrath Rajshirke (28), both consignment loaders with ground handling agency Cambata Aviation, for stealing two boxes with mobile phone handsets worth Rs 8.4 lakh from the cargo building.
The Other Side
According to an MIAL spokesperson, about 60 CCTV cameras are already being installed at the passenger area of the Mumbai airport and another 40 will be installed soon in theft-prone areas that include a major portion of the Cargo complex.
