The Customs department is planning to deploy sniffer dogs at the Hyderabad International airport to detect narcotics, a senior Directorate of Revenue Intelligence official said today.
"We do not have sniffer dogs at the Hyderabad international airport.The Customs department has plans to deploy sniffer dogs to detect narcotics.
There are plans for training of dogs and their handlers," DRI's (Hyderabad Zonal Unit) Additional Director General M K Singh told reporters here.
The Hyderabad Zonal Unit covers Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha states.
Singh said during 2017-18, 127 cases were registered by the DRI and customs duty evasion of Rs 269 crore was detected. Contraband goods worth Rs 817 crore were seized and 61 people arrested in different cases.
The DRI booked 13 cases involving 24 kg of gold smuggling, he said, adding, "the quantity of gold smuggled was higher but the people were now playing it safe and bringing gold in less quantity."
Another official said the DRI has identified some organised gangs that are involved in smuggling of gold from abroad to Hyderabad from the International airport here.
A total of 16 narcotic cases were registered and nine illicit manufacturing units of drugs like Alprazolam and ephedrine were dismantled, he said.
In addition to this, customs effected two seizures of fake Indian currency notes with face value of over Rs 10 lakh at Visakhapatnam railway station which were brought from Malda (West Bengal).
DRI, Vijayawada, detected supply of 406 star tortoises from a train which was attempted for sale and export to Bangladesh.
It also detected cigarette and foreign currencies smuggling, Singh added.
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