AN investigation has been launched after Indian Customs authorities foiled a gold smuggling attempt by a female passenger who travelled from Bahrain to Kochi, Kerala.
The gold weighing more than 500gm, with an estimated value of about BD11,370 and concealed in the inner soles of the passenger’s shoes, was seized on Tuesday by Customs officials at Cochin International Airport.
“During the examination of a female passenger arriving from Bahrain to Cochin, two square-shaped, black-coloured packets were discovered,” said a statement by the airport authorities.
“These packets contained gold in paste form, weighing a total of 275.94gm, concealed under the inner soles of her shoes.
“In addition, five crude bangles and a gold chain weighing 253.45gm were worn by the passenger that were also confiscated.”
Gold smuggling in India has been on the rise over the past few years after the government imposed Customs duty on imports that increased to 15 per cent from 10.75pc last year.
Customs authorities especially in Delhi and Kerala have seized tonnes of gold in a number of cases since last year from passengers arriving from Gulf countries.
The gold has been concealed in paste form, cylindrical-shaped capsules, hidden in luggage and even hidden in capsule form in the smuggler’s rectum.
The GDN reported last month that two Indians flying from Bahrain to New Delhi were arrested for trying to smuggle in 1,590gm of gold worth more than BD37,000.
The gold was hidden in the rectum of the two passengers in a paste form.
In March this year, an Air India cabin crew was arrested at Cochin International Airport for smuggling 1,487gm of gold that was flattened and wrapped around his hand.
He was on the Bahrain-Kozhikode-Kochi service.
Another gold smuggler was arrested last December by Customs officials at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
The Indian national returning from Bahrain was arrested with 14 gold bars worth more than BD31,000.
The bars was concealed in the passenger’s baggage.
Bahrain was also among Gulf countries linked to a major gold smuggling operation after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India started probing a high-profile gold smuggling racket uncovered in Kerala in 2021.
It followed Indian Customs seizing 30kg gold from a diplomatic consignment addressed to the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.
The two masterminds named by the NIA earlier this week were Sandip Nair, who was arrested along with the main accused, Swapna Suresh.
The NIA investigation revealed that the two accused had knowingly conspired since June 2019, raised funds and smuggled from the UAE, around 167kg of gold, through import cargo addressed to diplomats at the Consulate General of the UAE in Thiruvananthapuram.
It added that the main accused in this case had also planned to smuggle more gold from countries like Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
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