Vasco, Sep 19 (HERALD): While the alarming rise in cases of gold smuggling at the Dabolim airport, exposes the lack of security and vigilance, it underlines an extremely dangerous fact – the complicity of ground staff at Bombay, and more crucially in Goa, in allowing smugglers to get away.

As we have reported, last year, a Goa-based travel agent and a loader were arrested for aiding gold smugglers. Recently, a woman CISF constable was arrested in a gold smuggling case at Dabolim airport. Senior customs officials admit and agree that while there has been a very disturbing trend in cases of passengers being caught smuggling gold, especially those arriving by the Air India flight 984 from Dubai via Bombay, there is a lot of ground to be covered.

Since January 2015, 20 cases of gold smuggling have been discovered and registered of which 11 cases involved passengers from flight AI-984 from whom six kilos of gold was seized. The big ask though is whether that is the actual haul or is the amount recovered a small sample of what has actually been smuggled?

The point is, as we have mentioned in our story in this edition, passengers with Bhatkal as their destination, seem to have – going by the cases – mastered the art of smuggling. This is therefore no longer just a customs issue but should come under the overall domain of security, taking into account the concerns of terrorism under whose shadow Bhatkal has lived. If gold can be smuggled as easily, other material, which can then been used either to fund or to be used in activity linked to terrorism can’t be ruled out. While there is no evidence of it, security agencies can rule this out only at their own peril and that of the nation.

Meanwhile the customs department has its task cut out. And so does the Airports Authority of India and the security forces at the airport. To start with, Flight AI 984 should be converted to a direct Dubai-Goa flight on all days of the week. Alternatively, if it has to be routed through Bombay, the international leg should culminate in Bombay with immigration and customs checks done there. The Bombay-Goa leg should be done on a separate domestic aircraft.

Meanwhile, the customs and other security apparatus at the Goa airport need to be beefed up. It is far too lax and not equipped to handle and manage rising security concerns for a sensitive destination like Goa, which is also being used as a transit point for passengers going to North Karnataka.

The security needs and concerns for the Dabolim International airport has also increased manifold with the quantum leap in the number of international commercial flights landing in Goa. Apart from Air India, Air Arabia, Qatar Airways, Oman Air and Air Asia have direct international operations from Goa now and therefore the chances of passengers landing with smuggled gold and other substances have increased. Staff at the airport, especially customs staff, have not been enhanced or trained to handle such growing numbers.

Pressure will also build up during the season when charter flights start arriving. With the Visa on Arrival facility liberally granted, the number of passengers with antecedents unverified will reach Goa and beyond.

The dynamics of security and the goalposts for dealing with new dangers have changed. Neither the security system in Goa, nor the country for that matter, has woken up to these changes.