Hyderabad: Smuggling of gold via flights has seen a huge increase in the recent past. The air intelligence unit at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad has so far registered 40 cases this year, while it was only ten cases till August 2016.
Officials said that more cases are registered due to a rise in detection. “Though there is an increase in detection, it will not account for the 10 per cent of the total gold which is smuggled into the country,” a senior customs official said. They say that the syndicate rakes in a profit of Rs 5 lakh for each kg of gold smuggled.
Gold smuggling has recently turned out to be one of the lucrative ways of earning. It has become a preferred route to earn quick money. The easiest way to smuggle gold is concealing it under clothes or undergarments. If caught, they can release the gold by paying the customs duty and the fine. “Unless there is a specific tip-off, a carrier cannot be identified and caught. Due to the rush at the airport, each passenger cannot be subjected to screening,” a senior customs official said.
Officials say that in most cases, the carriers easily walk out with the gold as there is less chance for suspicion. “Though there is an increase in the number of cases, the actual detection or the seizure is less than the 10 per cent of the gold smuggled into the country. This is the situation at all the international airports in the country,” said the official from the customs.
The smuggled gold can be confiscated only if the value is above Rs 20 lakh.
If the carrier is a repeat offender, the penalty amount will increase. Often carriers are caught and the organisers are never brought into light.
