Gujarat airports to get upgraded X-ray baggage scanning system

In a bid to enhance luggage screening, the Ahmedabad Customs Commissionerate has decided to install eight units of X-ray Baggage Inspection System (XBIS) at two international airports in Gujarat, an official said on Monday. These advanced luggage screening units will be also installed at Inland Container Depot at Khodiar village near Ahmedabad and Foreign Post Office here, he said.

These X-ray units are much advanced than the current luggage screening system in place at Ahmedabad and Surat international airports, Kumar Santosh, Principal Commissioner (Ahmedabad Customs), told reporters here. "Current luggage screening units are around five to six years old. Some units often experience technical snag and stop functioning.

"The Ministry of Finance has approved eight XBIS for better luggage screening and we will receive these advanced units very soon," Santosh said. Meanwhile, to thwart any attempt of smuggling, particularly of gold, the Ahmedabad Customs has now started profiling of passengers using a newly developed system called Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS).

Using APIS, an Indian passenger was recently held at the Ahmedabad airport for trying to smuggle 600 grams of gold upon his arrival from Sharjah, said Santosh. The customs department started doing profiling of passengers and prepared a list of frequent travellers through APIS, the officer said.

A person with frequent travel history is most likely to be a smuggler whose only intention to undertake a foreign trip is to bring gold illegally, he said. The Ahmedabad Customs registered 113 cases of gold smuggling between April 1, 2019, and January 20, 2020, and seized 77 kgs of gold worth Rs 27.11 crore at Ahmedabad and Surat airports, Santosh said.

A majority of the apprehended passengers had arrived from Dubai, Sharjah, Oman, Kuwait and Bangkok, he added..

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