Airport vigil leads to more gold through seaports

KOZHIKODE: While Kerala wakes up almost every day to a gold seizure case in one of it airports, what goes virtually unnoticed is that large amounts of gold is stealthily smuggled through the sea ports in the state.

According to sources in the gold business, large quantities of gold are being smuggled through sea ports, threatening the very base of the country’s economy. Sources said the gold is handed over to the smugglers in international waters and the main operatives involved have links with some terrorist organizations.

An unholy nexus between a section of the law enforcing officials with the smuggling mafia is aiding them smuggle gold.  Heavy traffic and cargo movement in leading ports force the officials to forego the micro-level inspection of cargo, which in turn helps the gold smugglers.

“When gold is smuggled through airports, the smugglers get an average profit of up to Rs 4 lakh per kilogram of gold. Smugglers who operate through sea ports get a better margin as the gold in trade is completely blacklisted and are sourced from countries like South Africa, which is the largest producer of gold in the world.

“Kerala is the largest market of this smuggled gold as a majority of the jewellers depend on smuggled gold. As per an estimate, only 13 percent of the 1600-odd jewellery shops in the state give bills for the purchase. They escape sales tax inspection taking refuge by joining the compounding tax system. What is seized at airports is miniscule when we compare the amount of gold smuggled through sea ports,” a leading jeweller told Deccan Chronicle.

When contacted, Customs Commissioner, K N Raghavan told DC that there was a look-out already in force against such activities. “The security agencies are very concerned about the possibility and we are on a high vigil. For smuggling through sea ports, the cartels need huge infrastructure and only big, established gangs can do that.

All such gangs in Kerala are under constant watch of our law enforcement agencies. However, we do not rule out the possibility completely and are keeping our eyes open against this,” he added.