Over three-fold increase in gold smuggling; airports on alert

Citing over three-fold increase in gold smuggling this fiscal, the government has put on alert officials at all international airports, land and sea borders to intensify vigil to check illegal ferrying of the yellow metal.

An alert has been issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, lead agency to check smuggling and customs duty evasion, to all international transit points across the country, official sources said.

The DRI and customs department have registered at least 1,780 cases of gold being smuggled into the country between April and August. The value of gold seized in these cases is Rs 470 crore (Rs 4.7 billion), the sources said.

Whereas, about 550 such cases were registered during April and September, 2013 which resulted in seizure of gold valuing Rs 153 crore (Rs 1.53 billion), they said.

The cases registered this year so far are provisional and the number is likely to go up, the sources said.

The alert circular has cited new modus operandi, including possible use of soft drink bottles, house hold items and foot wears among others in gold smuggling, they said.

Revenue intelligence officials suspect rise in gold smuggling during ongoing festival and wedding season, the sources said.

There has been also an increase in gold smuggling cases during the past three years.

The DRI and customs officials had registered 500 and 869 cases of gold smuggling during 2011-12 and 2012-13.

The value of gold seized in these cases were Rs 43 crore (Rs 430 million) and 129 crore (Rs 1.29 billion) respectively.

However, the gold smuggling cases had jumped to 2,441 during 2013-14.

The quantity of yellow metal in these cases was 2,344 kg valuing about Rs 680 crore, the sources said.

The smugglers are using new ways to smuggle gold into the country, to meet the rising demand.

"Of late, they have started preferring sea routes rather individual carriers.

“Recently, there has been a seizure of one such consignment in a Gujarat port in which gold was being smuggled through soft drinks bottles.

“All field staff have been alerted about possible rise in cases of gold smuggling," a source said.

The high demand of gold has been a matter of concern for Finance Ministry which is trying hard to control Current Account Deficit, difference between the outflow and inflow of foreign currency.

It has been making efforts to contain people's passion for gold which is resulting in large import of the yellow metal.

The gold import rose five-fold to $3.75 billion in September, which was $682.5 million during the same month last year.