Beypore port becoming a haven for drug smugglers

KOZHIKODE: The Beypore port, through which majority of the cargo to the Lakshadweep Islands is shipped, is fast becoming an easy spot for smuggling liquor and drugs in and out of the state. The port has virtually no security procedures to check the cargo that is loaded and unloaded in the passenger ships and barges that carry goods.“The port has not undertaken the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS) measure, saying it is a minor port.Without gadgets like  baggage scanner and closed circuit cameras, illegal trafficking of drugs and liquor is very common at the port,” said K K Haridas, a ship captain working in the Beypore Port.“Not only the smuggling of the drugs, even explosives can be brought through the gates of the port and nobody would even frisk you,” he added. There is only a single point of checking at the port where the tickets and records of the passengers are checked.“We have given a proposal to the government to implement the security measures at the port. There have been instances where we have caught people smuggling goods to Laskshadweep earlier. We can only conduct checks with the limited manpower we have,” said Port Officer K R Vinothu. The reason for the rise in the smuggling at the port is said to be the rise in the number of vessels that carry passengers and goods in the past 10 years. “Almost a ship in every two days reaches the port, which has a capacity of 150 passengers. Earlier, there used to be a single vessel that carried passengers from the port. There is also a significant rise in the number of barges that carry the cargo to the islands,” said Vinothu.Though the Port authorities claim that a baggage scanner would be installed soon and the proposal has been given, staff at the office say that the news has been going on for the past many years but not yet been implemented. “We see the port everyday and know what all things are carried in and out through the port. The security officers are corrupt and let through the cargo without any proper checking. The local workers are also in support of the trade as they also get a share of the money,” said one of the senior members of the Port Authority.