Enforcement agencies have traditionally viewed gold smuggling as a non-violent crime. The vintage economic offence has few apparent victims except the public exchequer initially.
However, as it happened in Mumbai decades ago, gold smuggling appears to have spawned a violent mafia in Kerala. Whether some of the cartels have extremist links is currently a subject of an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
In a heads-up to the NIA recently, State Police Chief Loknath Behera had flagged the prevalence of armed gangs that preyed on carriers who moved contraband gold and hawala money within the State. Mr. Behera had reportedly told the NIA that some of the groups had links with extremist outfits.
The ongoing probe by the Customs and the NIA into the smuggling of gold into Kerala via air cargo shipments addressed to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consulate has thrown the role of the armed gangs and their possible links with religious fundamentalist organisations into sharp focus. The NIA is looking into the “terrorism financing” angle of the smuggling case.
In a communique to the agency, Mr. Behera had reportedly listed the individuals and organisations that profited from the illegal gold trade. He had also identified at least one set of persons who recruited women as carriers for gold smugglers and hawala networks.
Inspector General of Police P. Vijayan, who had arrested a Malappuram-based gang that targeted couriers employed by hawala networks for the cash they carried on their person, told The Hindu that victims of such attacks rarely lodged an official complaint.
In May 2019, the Meppayur police in Kozhikode Rural dismantled a similar gang that preyed on gold smugglers and hawala agents. The detection was reportedly just the tip of the ice-berg.
The State police have singled out Koduvally in Kozhikode as the epicentre of the contraband gold business. They have told the NIA that there are about 100 jewellery within a 400 metre radius of Koduvally, which fronted for the contraband trade. The police have pegged the annual business transacted by Koduvally set at ₹1,000 crore. An official said it is a rather conservative estimate and the tentacles of nexus extended across Kerala.
