Customs enforcers anticipate a surge in gold smuggling in the run-up to Onam this year.
In a bid to staunch the inflow of contraband gold prior to Kerala’s marriage and shopping season, the agency has urged the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to issue its agents security passes that grant full access to all areas in airports in Kerala.
Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) K.N. Raghavan recently told members of various airport security committees that limiting the access of his agents to specific quarters in airports could imperil anti-smuggling operations.
Kerala has a big market for gold. Smuggling bullion into the State had turned appealingly lucrative after the Union government hiked the import duty on gold to tackle the country’s yawning current account deficit. Gulf-based gold smugglers actively recruited low-paid baggage handlers and corrupt airport staff to achieve operational success. Smugglers routinely stowed away contraband gold in aircraft closets, beneath seats or inside cabin panels to be collected by their airport-collaborators. Toilets, aerobridges and “ferry buses” were the usual drop points.
Investigators said conventional enforcement at airports had hardly impacted gold smuggling. The bullion seized so far could be just a fraction of the gold smuggled into Kerala. The “failure-to-detect” rate was unquantifiable. But it could be high, said an investigator.
Smugglers drafted women and families returning home as carriers in return for free tickets and considerable compensation. Such “carriers” noticeably differed from the established profile of smugglers and, hence, were difficult to detect.
Gold was smuggled mainly in body cavities. It was often coated with Rhodium to fox airport scanners. Consumer durables such as hot-plates, pens, emergency lamps, mobile phones, toys and washing machines were commonly used to conceal bullion.
The resurgence in gold smuggling has also been matched by a dip in legal bullion import. Hawala networks were now more than ever reliant on gold smuggling to balance accounts, investigators said.
