Gold Smuggling in Rise though Kerala Airports

25 July 2013
Thiruvananthapuram

With the government increasing the duty on import of gold to arrest foreign exchange drain and revive the economy, smuggling through the three international airports in Kerala have increased. According to reports, at least 20kgs of gold smuggled in through the northern Calicut airport alone was seized during the past two months.

Earlier this month, Shamseen, a native of Kozhikode, was arrested on his arrival in Mumbai on his way home from Dubai with 1kg of gold biscuits worth Rs2.37mn concealed in his undergarments.This month a passenger on a Dubai-Kozhikode flight, was detained by Air Customs Intelligence officials after a 1kg gold bar was found hidden in his shoes.

Gold weighing 3.99kg was seized from a Sharjah passenger who tried to smuggle in the yellow metal concealed in a metal box in a television set. However, the gold was detected during an X-ray scan.

Officials attribute the spurt in attempts by passengers to smuggle in gold to the considerable price difference between Indian and international prices after the increase in import duty. The duty-free allowance on gold, Rs50,000 for men and Rs100,000 for women, is applicable only for ornaments and not on import of gold coins, biscuits and bars.

India imports gold mostly from Switzerland and Dubai. The curbs imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on banks and ban on the sale of gold coins and bars also contributed to the sudden spurt in smuggling.

Source– http://www.gulf-times.com/india/185/details/360767/airports-in-kerala-see-rise-in-gold-smuggling

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