Mumbai: The city’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has recorded the highest number of gold smuggling cases in India with a record 1,150 cases in 2014. A Right to Information (RTI) query revealed that the anti-smuggling department at the city airport in the same period had seized around 1,000 kg of gold.
The RTI has revealed that gold smuggling in the city airport has increased drastically in the past three years. In Mumbai airport, a total of 534 cases were detected in 2012 and after dropping to 448 cases in 2013, it again surged to 1,150 cases in 2014 recording a 115 per cent rise in gold smuggling.
The Mumbai airport has recorded the highest number of gold smuggling cases in India followed by Chennai (970), New Delhi (401) and Kolkata (233) in 2014. The RTI application was filed by The Asian Age to the anti-smuggling unit, department of revenue, New Delhi.
The RTI reply also said there had been a change in the trend of crime with more number of insiders getting involved in the smuggling. However, as per the RTI, only six ground staff members, airline staffers have been arrested in connection with gold smuggling in the city airport in 2014. Whereas, no airport or airline staff members were arrested in 2013 and 2012.
Additional commissioner of Air Intelligence Unit Milind Lanjewar said, “It is mandatory for all the ground staff and cabin crew members to go through customs checking while arriving from an international route.”
Most of the yellow metals are smuggled from Saudi Arabia where the price of gold is lower than in India. After the recent series of gold seizures from the airline crews, the customs department has sent a notice to all the airlines asking them to ensure their crews do not evade customs clearing.
Mumbai also serves as a gateway for gold smuggling to neighbouring states such as Gujarat, where 40 per cent of the seized gold from the city get transported. On October 10, 3 kg of gold worth Rs 80 lakh was seized from a Mumbai resident from the Ahmedabad airport. The gold was concealed in an audio amplifier in his bag.
“Most of the smugglers carry the gold through international airlines and land at Mumbai. Then they smuggle the gold to Ahmedabad. Of late, smugglers are using newly-wed couples to get gold into the city,” said A.K. Sharma, director of the Ahmedabad airport.
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