What is common among cattle, gold and narcotic drugs? They are the top three goods that trans-border smuggling syndicates deal in.
Gold smuggling into the country recorded a multi-fold increase last year, with the Union government conceding in the Lok Sabha recently that the spurt could be partly attributed to price “fluctuations” and higher customs duty rates.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs made 871 seizures of gold, estimated at Rs. 99 crore, during 2012-13. The estimate value for 2011-12 is Rs. 42 crore.
After the government decided to raise the import duty on gold in a staggered manner to keep the current account deficit in check, smuggling of the yellow metal soared.
During 2013-14, the agency intercepted over 1,750 consignments estimated at Rs. 564 crore. In the Lok Sabha recently, the Union Home Ministry said the seizures for 2013-14 (up to October 2013) were valued at Rs. 208.23 crore.
The sources of the seized gold have been mostly the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Hong Kong. Most of the seizures were made at prominent international airports, whereas gold is also being smuggled in through land and sea, with cargo, courier or parcel being common conduits.
Besides intensifying surveillance, the government has appealed to the people to moderate their demand for gold.
When it comes to trans-border crimes, the government is concerned over the smuggling of cattle along the Indo-Bangladesh border. In the first half of the year, 5,504 cases have been registered, 130 arrested and 47,831 cattle impounded. Last year, the respective figures were 14,900, 421 and 1.22 lakh.
“The government has adopted a multi-pronged approach to check trans-border crimes, including cattle smuggling, along the international borders of the country,” the Ministry said in the Lok Sabha on one occasion.
Yet another reply highlights the common practice of cattle smuggling along the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders since they are open, porous and visa-free.
The flourishing business of narcotic drugs has also recorded a significant increase along all the borders, except Indo-Nepal. The highest jump has been recorded along the Indo-Bangladesh border, where 9,289 kg of the contraband was seized till June this year compared with 8,050 kg last year. Seizures along the Indo-Bhutan, Indo-Myanmar and the Indo-Pakistan borders increased substantially. However, in contrast is a sharp dip in seizures on the Indo-Nepal border, from 12,407 kg in 2011 to 8,298 kg last year and only 564 kg till June 2014.
