On Thursday, two officials of Central Customs Department were arrested in an imported liquor scam. The two individuals worked at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in the city.
In the scam that was unveiled, 266 imported liquor bottles were seized during the raids conducted at different places. The police got the information from the two arrested.
P&E Director, Akun Sabharwal reported, “There is involvement of some RGIA staff members in the racket as well. After gathering evidence, their staffers too would be arrested.”
The scam involved these individuals purchasing imported liquor at duty free charges and then selling it to people in the city.
The culprits use the previously scanned passengers passports to buy the imported liquor. An investigator said, “This is done at the instance of customs officials with unsuspecting passengers and those not familiar with the real system of customs clearance.”
Every passenger is allowed to buy not more than two bottles of foreign liquor bottles at the duty free shop.
The point of the scam is that the bottles purchased are at a cheaper price than the market because of tax exemption. Mr. Sabharwal explained,“On an average, a minimum of 100 bottles are purchased each day in this fashion and taken out with the help of customs officials.”
Officials are working towards catching the rest of the men involved in the scam. “The 266 foreign liquor bottles we seized on Thursday were purchased the previous day only. That shows how big the racket was,” reported by one of the investigators.
