Two passengers on a flight from Kuwait to Kochi were apprehended by the Air Intelligence Unit of Kochi Customs, and the 5.2kg of gold being smuggled into the country by the duo were seized by the authorities.
The confiscated gold, concealed in the handgrip of eight exercise dumbells and in the center of two door hinges, is worth an estimated KD85,000. Acting on a tip-off, Faiz Sheikh and Jawed Ali Khan Deshmukh, were arrested in the early hours of Thursday, as they arrived on a Kuwait Airways flight to Kochi International Airport.
Under questioning, the two admitted that they had carried out smuggling operations on several previous occasions, and were working for a smuggling syndicate that operated out of Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in the state
Gold seizures have doubled this year from 219 instances in 2018, when a total of 81.7kg of gold worth over KD105,000 were seized, to 464 cases so far in 2019, with 167kg of gold worth more than KD226,000 were confiscated. However, this is only a tiny fraction of the gold that is believed to be smuggled into the country annually by evading the customs authorities.
One reason given for the increase in smuggling is the price difference for gold between India and the Gulf states, following the government’s decision to introduce an additional tax on gold imports. A person who manages to smuggle one kilo of gold into the country stands to make as much as KD1,700.
The profit motive has led to poor laborers and many without jobs in the Gulf to fall victim to smuggling syndicates operating in India and abroad. For a cut in the smuggling profit, they agree to act as couriers and are provided access to innovative methods of smuggling, including by hiding the yellow metal in their body cavities.
Besides the lucrativeness of smuggling gold, stringent punishment to deter smugglers is practically non-existent. The two men arrested on Thursday were presented in court and immediately released on bail, with the case dragging on in the Indian courts for years to come.
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