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California man recalls customs story during his relocation to India amid Wintrack's allegations against Chennai Customs

Wintrack Inc. has accused Chennai Customs officials of bribery practices and harassment in a social media post.

Updated on: Oct 4, 2025, 10:03:31 IST
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Amid the corruption and harassment charges against Chennai Customs by Wintrack Inc, a tweet by an X user has gone viral on social media. In a tweet, a man recalled an incident involving customs and his computer monitor when he relocated to India.

A man from California said what he had to do to get his computer monitor. (Representational image). (Unsplash)
A man from California said what he had to do to get his computer monitor. (Representational image). (Unsplash)

“When I moved to India, I was allowed one computer for personal use, so I shipped my monitor. I showed them the doc: one personal computer (inc monitor) allowed. They agreed but because I had no PC with it, I had to pay 100% of value in duty or bribe. Paid it. Monitor was broken,” Jacob Singh alleged. According to his LinkedIn bio, Singh hails from Oakland, California. However, he has been living in New Delhi for the past few years.

Also Read: Finance ministry orders probe into Wintrack's harassment, corruption allegations against Chennai Customs

Here's the entire X post:

What did social media say?

Another added, “My first return from the US 2003: bought a few things, got all bills, still, I was stopped at Mumbai customs. The officer took my passport and I started worrying about missing the connecting flight. When he could not extract money, emptied my bag on a table just to humiliate me.” A third posted, “For some reason it feels like corruption is ingrained within us.”

What did Wintrack say?

In a tweet, Chennai-based cargo firm Wintrack Inc. announced that it has decided to close its logistics operations in India. The company cited harassment and bribery demands from Chennai customs officials.

Also Read: Shashi Tharoor fumes after cargo firm shuts down India ops citing bribery: ‘Truly dismaying’

“From October 1, 2025, our company will cease import/export activities in India. For the past 45 days, Chennai Customs officials have relentlessly harassed us. After exposing their bribery practices twice this year, they retaliated, effectively crippling our operations and destroying our business in India. We deeply thank everyone who has supported us during these difficult times,” the company tweeted.

(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Trisha Sengupta

Trisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.

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