Poor security: Port is contraband conduit

May 26: Thanks to an acute manpower shortage, contraband of any type can be sneaked into Chennai through the port, say customs officials, shipping agents and importers. The shortage of manpower at the port’s customs unit has raised serious security concerns given the fact that the section has to handle more than 3,000 imported containers on a daily basis.

“There is no export-import infrastructure worth mention at the Chennai Port customs which is rated as the best on the Coromandel Coast because of its excellent hinterland network,” a senior customs official told this newspaper. He also warned about the possibility of extremists and terrorist organisations misusing the port to bring in arms, ammunitions and other logistics as it is increasingly being considered as a safe route to bring in such banned items.

According to top customs officials, about 28 cargo freight stations are currently being operated by only 14 customs officials and each of them has been given charge of two to three freight stations situated in different parts of the city.

“It is humanly impossible to keep a close watch on so many stations without an adequate number of officials. This is a job which requires intelligence, perseverance and eternal vigil,” said the official.

The Electronic Data Interchange gateway at Chennai customs is also obsolete with the customs house using a system that was installed in 1997. “Due to lack of officials and modern systems, the clearance procedures in different container freight stations starts only in late evening and the process continues till midnight, causing a major loss to the customs house agents,” an importer in the city told this newspaper.