Ahmedabad airport is using artificial intelligence and data analytics to strengthen checks against gold smuggling, drug trafficking and the movement of hybrid cannabis, according to a report by Nav Gujarat Samay. The measures are being applied across baggage screening, passenger profiling, CCTV monitoring and the analysis of flight and smuggling patterns.
The Customs department is leading efforts to prevent illegal trafficking through the airport, while officers from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Air Intelligence Unit are also maintaining surveillance, the report said. The intensified approach follows cases in which Ahmedabad airport was allegedly used by smuggling networks from across the country to move gold.
The report also said that the involvement of four Customs officials had emerged in a gold-smuggling case and that action was being taken against them. It did not provide details of the case, the officials involved or the nature of the action.
AI-supported screening is being used to examine images generated when passenger bags and other luggage pass through X-ray machines after international flights land. Such systems can flag suspicious shapes or objects for manual inspection by officers. The report said AI is being used in scanners at Ahmedabad airport, although it did not identify the technology provider or specify the number of machines covered.
Data analytics is also being used to assist passenger profiling. Information relating to frequent travellers and passengers previously caught carrying gold or other prohibited items can be used to prepare profiles, the report said. Officials may then examine patterns in the data and refer passengers for further checks as part of lawful investigations and risk assessment.
The airport has a CCTV monitoring room for tracking passenger movement. Where AI-based video analytics are applied, the technology can help identify activity that matches pre-set indicators of unusual behaviour across large volumes of footage. The report, however, noted that the existence of CCTV monitoring does not by itself establish that AI-based surveillance is operating in every part of the airport.
Investigators are also examining flight routes, passenger movement, intelligence inputs and the outcomes of previous cases to identify patterns linked to smuggling. Particular attention may be given to passengers travelling on routes where an international flight connects with a domestic service, along with related movement and travel information.
The expanded use of technology places greater emphasis on how airport security agencies combine automated alerts with human inspection and investigation. AI can identify patterns or images for attention, but the report described manual checking and legal investigation as part of the enforcement process. It did not state whether the system has produced a measurable increase in seizures or arrests.
The Customs department, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Air Intelligence Unit are continuing surveillance and investigations at Ahmedabad airport. Further details on the technology, its operating protocols and the action involving the four Customs officials were not provided in the report.
