Sajan is a frequent flier to Bangkok. Sometimes, even twice a week. But the 24-year-old is neither a high-flying businessman nor the CEO of a multinational.

He is a ‘tripper’ — carrier in lay man’s parlance — who visits Bangkok and Hong Kong to get jeans, shoes, ladies’ tops, T-shirts, memory cards and iPods, which find their way to the retail racks in Five Star Market in Kidderpore, Metro Plaza and Vardaan Market.

“Making trips to these cities, purchasing merchandise and supplying them to markets in Calcutta has been my occupation for the past eight months,” says Sajan, in a white T-shirt and blue anti-fit denims.

For the man, who grew up in the gullis off Ripon Street and barely finished school, the trips to foreign countries were a new experience altogether.

“I was excited, because I was getting to see new places with all expenses paid,” adds Sajan, who has made more than 15 trips abroad in the past six months.

His earnings from each trip — spanning two to three days — was around Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000, which he thought was not enough, given the amount of risk in ferrying goods without paying duties.

So, he hit upon the idea of bilateral trade and started carrying pouches of khaini (chewing tobacco), gutkha, pan masala, incense sticks and cigarettes to supply them to the wholesale markets of Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.

“Now, my earnings are up, around Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 per trip,” he smiles, while picking up packets of khaini and gutkha from the Kidderpore wholesale market for his next trip to Hong Kong in the second week of March.

As more and more “trippers” are adopting the same model and maximising returns from such trips, young men in localities like Kidderpore, Ekbalpore, Ripon Street and Mehendi Bagan are queuing up to join the tripper trade.

“The maximum baggage limit in the economy class is 20 kg… But in a competitive market, some airlines are allowing up to 60 kg and the tripper trade is booming,” says a veteran importer of phoren goods.

So, more and more young men are approaching shop-owners to make quick bucks. “More than three to four trippers come to my shop every week and, on an average, I sell more than 40 kg of khaini and a thousand pouches of gutkha to them. The demand for these products is rising every week,” said a gutkha and khaini trader in the Kidderpore wholesale market.

That trading in products without following the official route is risky and may land some of them behind bars is not a big concern for these young men. If somebody is caught carrying banned substances, his passport is seized and the person is jailed.

“I know carrying things like khaini, gutkha and cigarettes is illegal and risky. If I am caught, I might be jailed for a long period. But at least I am working hard to earn this money. With ‘friendly’ customs officials and relaxed norms on airlines, we are able to make a livelihood,” says Pravin, who has been working as a carrier for the past year.

Gautam Ray, commissioner of customs (administration and airport), promises action against trippers. “When it came to our notice that people were bringing in commercial merchandise in their hand baggage, we increased our vigilance and started imposing penalties. It seems that they are now trying to make money by taking substances like pulses and pan masala to outside countries. Now, we are going to step up vigil on the departure side also.”