In past month, about half a dozen such cases have been reported from the IGI airport where passengers lost their valuables including cash and jewellery, from the flight or at the terminal
Don't forget to check on your valuables after reaching your destination, if you have taken a flight from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). With the onset of summer rush, as the number of passengers flying through IGI has witnessed a significant rise, gangs of loaders and ground staff involved in thefts from check-in baggage at the airport have also become active.
In past month, about half a dozen such cases have been reported from the IGI airport where passengers lost their valuables including cash and jewellery, from the flight or at the terminal.
On March 22 , a passenger who traveled from Delhi to Bangkok, realised after reaching Bankgkok that his cash and valuables were missing and lock of the bags broken. When he tried to lodge a complaint he was asked to do it at the Delhi airport, while the authorities here told him that this is a normal phenomena, said the complainant in his complaint.
On March 17, more than Rs 44,000 was stolen from a cash counter at the airport's terminal. Similarly, on March 9, a baggage of a courier company was stolen after being loaded.
All these recent cases have brought the loaders, ground handlers and housekeeping staff at the terminal under the police and Central Industrial Security Force's scanner. Officers say that these gangs operate in teams including loaders, airline staff, ground staff deployed near security check areas and the house-keeping staff.
The moment a bag with some valuables is detected during screening after check-in, the information is passed on to one of the house-keeping staffers who are mobile across the floor. They in turn inform loaders who carry luggage to the cargo hold of aircrafts after screening. The loaders carry out the thefts as they are experts in opening bags without breaking locks.
"In many cases, loaders have been found carrying small screwdrivers or pins to pluck off the zip of a bag. After the theft, the zip is attached again. Due to this, passengers do not suspect anything when they receive the baggage at their destination and only realise it later," said a senior police officer.
Officers say that those involved in the gang are also aware of the positioning of CCTVs cameras and, therefore, usually escape easily. "At the baggage handling area, cameras are not positioned correctly and are even missing at some places. Authorities have been notified but nothing has been done," said a senior CISF official. CISF, which handles security of the airport, has stepped up vigil in the baggage loading area and officials are keeping a watch on ground staff due to increased incidents.
MODUS OPERANDI
- Workers at luggage scanner tip off the house keeping staffers about valuables in the luggage
- The information is passed to the ground handlers by the house keeping staff who move freely across the floor
- The ground handlers then mark the luggage which is identified by the loaders
- Loaders carry tiny needles and screw drivers which are used to clip off the zip or break the lock to take off valuables
- The zip of the baggage is again placed on it to avoid any suspicion
POSSIBLE PRECAUTIONS
- Carry valuables in hand baggage
- Always check the lock of your baggage after receiving it at the destination airport
- Report the matter to police immediately if anything suspicious to let them trace the suspects instantly
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 "Indira Gandhi International Airport")
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