Gold smugglers are getting smarter and inventive when it comes to evading the eyes of the authorities.
But the Customs units in Kozhikode and the Calicut International Airport have outsmarted them to a great extent, going by the quantity of smuggled gold seized in the past six months.
The two Customs units seized 160 kg of gold worth ₹90.5 crore in the first half of 2023 and arrested 172 persons in 195 cases.
Incidentally, it is nearly the average amount of gold seized in the past four years. Officials had seized 212 kg of gold in 2019, 137 kg in 2020, 211 kg in 2021, and 236 kg in 2022. Considering the price of gold that has skyrocketed in recent months, it is the biggest haul in the past half a decade.
Most of the seizure this year was inside the airport where 120 kg of gold worth ₹67 crore was seized in 149 cases. As many as 141 persons were arrested at the airport, and six of them were women. Meanwhile, 40.39 kg of gold worth ₹23.5 crore was seized outside the airport, and 31 persons were arrested in 46 cases.
Smugglers use unusual methods to hide gold and get past Customs officials. Most often it is carried as capsules weighing 250 grams, while many hide it inside home appliances. Women often carry it as jewellery or in the form of sanitary napkins. They camouflage the gold in such a way that metal detectors cannot find them. There were cases where gold was coated like paint inside cardboard boxes.
It is often tip-offs that help Customs officials get hold of smugglers. Informers get ₹1.5 lakh for every kilogram of gold seized as reward.
