CISF to reward personnel who help spot criminal activity at Delhi airport

They have caught gold smugglers, human trafficking agents, passengers hiding suspicious items and even alleged molesters. The intelligence staff of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), who, in plainclothes, keep a watch on passengers through their movements, will now be rewarded for every breakthrough.

The personnel are trained in profiling. And by the kind of luggage a passenger carries or the clothes they wear, the intelligence staff are able to shortlist suspicious passengers.

Travelling without luggage might land you in the suspicious passenger category and cause extra checking at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). To improve the security standards, the CISF is now getting trained in profiling suspicious passengers by experts from Israel.

Recently, the Delhi airport, a CISF personnel noticed a passenger waiting at gate number 15 from where an Air Canada flight to Toronto was scheduled to depart. At the same time, Air India was looking for a passenger, who took the boarding pass but did not board the flight.

The two incidents, at the same time, raised suspicion and the passenger was detained. He questioning lad to a well organised trafficking racket.

“We must reward the personnel, who are going beyond their duties to prevent crimes at the airport. Apart from the cash reward, the personnel will get a certificate for outstanding work,” CISF director general OP Singh said, adding the focus on profiling has finally started showing results.

The CISF has roped in experts who will provide intelligence training to the staff and tell them about the different kinds of behaviour that make a passenger suspicious. Apart from the weight of the baggage, security officials have to look for signs of anxiety in passengers.

According to sources, the intelligence team of CISF identifies suspicious passengers outside the terminal and alerts colleagues. They move about near the boarding area and keep a watch on airport employees too.

During random checks and profiling of potential suspects at the entry point, the CISF personnel have detected a huge quantity of drugs such as opium, methamphetamine, heroin, pseudo-ephedrine and methaqualone drugs and arms and ammunition at airports.