Gold smuggling: Fourth seizure in four days

One person arrested with 2 kg gold bars at Ahmedabad airport

In the fourth such seizure in the last four days, Customs official have arrested one person with 2 kg gold bars from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA), Ahmedabad. The bars were seized from one Mazhar Abbas Ali, who was arrested by officials on Thursday based on specific intelligence information and Ali’s frequent flying nature.

Ali, who had landed from Singapore Airlines flight yesterday, was frisked thoroughly and interrogated, officials said.

“During frisking, 2 kg gold bars (2 bars of 1 kg each), covered  in medical adhesive bandage, wrapped in handkerchief and concealed in his undergarments, were recovered and seized,” officials said, adding that this is a unique modus operandi.

On Thursday, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had seized 12 kg gold bars from a zinc scrap in container cargo at Mundra port in Kutch district. The value of gold seized was estimated to be around Rs 3.6 crores.

Customs officials had arrested one Manjaliya Mohamed Rafiq, a resident of Mundra in Kutch, from SVPIA on Wednesday.

He was trying to smuggle gold wires and gold strips weighing 705.58 gms valued at Rs 20.81 lakh. The gold wires were concealed in a suitcase and gold strips were duly wrapped inside a blanket.

On Tuesday, four persons, hailing from Mumbai, were held by Customs officials at the airport for smuggling gold. In all, 2087.96 grams of gold, whose market value was Rs 62.15 lakh, were seized from them.

After the Union government raised the customs duty on gold in August 2013 to 10 per cent from 6 per cent, there has been a spurt in import of unofficial gold into the country. The Centre had hiked the import duty on yellow metal to control increasing imports and rising Current Account Deficit (CAD), which had touched 4.8 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012-13.