The customs officials of Mumbai Airport threatened the international passenger bringing an iPhone. The 3 customs officials were suspended.
Another instance of digital extortion occurred recently in an airport. In the digital extortion case, Customs officers approached naïve travellers and threatened to press charges for smuggling if they didn’t accept bribes for moving gold and electrical goods. The authorities were, nonetheless, suspended.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) received an online complaint from an international traveller alleging that Kumar and Pandey had harassed and threatened to book the traveller in a smuggling case.
Despite the fact that the passenger was allowed to use an iPhone for personal use under the Customs rule, the officials threatened to have him arrested. A senior IRS official with knowledge of the inquiry said that the passenger was instructed to use the restroom with a Customs havildar and pay a predetermined sum to avoid punishment.
The airport customs commissioner started looking into the passenger’s complaint and looked at the incident’s CCTV footage. “On the surface, it appears that the passenger’s complaints are valid. Another IRS inspector stationed at the Mumbai airport stated that CCTV had verified that the traveller had been brought to the restroom next to the baggage hall while being accompanied by a havildar.
Recent occurrences indicate that extortion attempts have been made against the customs employees at the Mumbai airport. The higher authorities should be responsible for this and should regularly investigate and inquire about it.
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