Standoff between Customs & cops over truck laden with clothes, shoes

KOLKATA: A filmi-style interception of a freighter exiting Kolkata airport with allegedly smuggled goods turned into a tussle between Customs officials and Bidhannagar Police, with both agencies trying to seize the product even as the driver tried to flee, leaving the vehicle in the middle of a busy VIP Road outside the airport.
The drama began around 10am on Tuesday when a team of Customs officials stopped the carrier at the VIP Road - Jessore Road crossing minutes after it had come out of the international cargo hold area with a fresh consignment.

As Customs officials stopped the vehicle, the driver jumped out of his seat, locked the car and began running. The officials gave a chase and so did officers of the Airport Traffic Guard posted at the crossing, who had initially thought there was an accident. A civic volunteer managed to catch the driver but by that time, a traffic snarl had developed on the road.
As Customs officials showed their identity and demanded custody of the driver and the goods, cops refused stating they had seized the product and called for the owner of the vehicle.
Drama continued over the next few hours with senior officials from both the agencies reaching NSCBI Airport Police Station till cops decided to check the content of the 22 cartons and bags before handing them over to the Customs officials. The cartons contained clothes, shoes, ornaments and watches.
“There was a lot of confusion as Customs officials didn’t inform us about the raid beforehand. Our team had nabbed the driver and seized the goods. Among other things we found some golden metal objects which after valuation by an accredited valuer turned out to be cosmetic ornaments. We took note of the seized item before handing them over to the Customs officials,” said Aishwarya Sagar, DC (airport) of Bidhannagar City Police.
Cops said the contents had been tagged from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. The driver has told cops he was to deliver the contents at a warehouse in Dum Dum and had no knowledge where to deliver the packages till Tuesday.
Customs officials have told cops the raid was conducted since they had information that gold was being smuggled and since it was a late tip-off, they could not alert the cops. However, there was no official statement from the Customs on the incident till late on Tuesday.