Smuggling of gold from Arabian Gulf countries, especially the United Arab Emirates, into the State continues unabated despite an increased vigil by the law enforcement agencies.
If some of the links involved in smuggling rackets can be trusted, hardly 10% of the gold brought into the State through Kerala’s airports is seized by the Customs and the police.
Although police sources do not admit that much of the gold smuggled in with the help of carriers reach the gold mafia, they agree that there was a spurt in the illegal trans-Gulf gold trade in recent months. In tune with the increase in gold smuggling, the hawala movement, dacoity and robbery too increased considerably in the State.
