It's destination Mumbai airport for smugglers trying to sneak in gold

Criminals seem to prefer the city because it is both a transit hub and a large market for the precious metal

When gold worth Rs 12.58 crore was seized at Mumbai’s international airport in October, the method of smuggling was familiar to the authorities. The gold was concealed in egg-shaped wax capsules inside the smugglers’ bodies, with foreign nationals and airport staff among the 13 people arrested.

 

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said the seizure was part of a broader pattern of gold smuggling at various Indian airports. While seizures have largely declined nationwide (along with reduced import duty caps and rising domestic gold prices), those at Mumbai airport have grown disproportionately.

 

DRI’s gold seizures increased from 1,422 kg to 4,058 kg between FY17 and FY19: A period in which the import duty remained 10 per cent. In FY20, seizures dipped to 3,673 kg as the import duty rose to 13 per cent. Duty remained high but seizure volumes fluctuated in subsequent years.

 

Seizures plunged to 1,001 kg in FY21 and rebounded to 3,716 kg in FY24, when import duty peaked at 15 per cent. The seizures fell to 1,813 kg in FY25 and 99 kg in the first quarter of FY26 (March to June), coinciding with the lowest import duty of 6 per cent. Alongside, gold’s average annual price more than doubled from Rs 29,655 in FY16 to Rs 73,583 in FY25.

 

Gold seizure cases increased from 1,939 in FY22 to 5,962 in FY24, before falling sharply to 1,282 in FY25. Despite the crackdown on smuggling, prosecutions under the Customs Act have declined. As many as 960 people were prosecuted in FY22, 280 in FY24, and 152 in FY25.  

 

According to the ‘Smuggling in India 2023-24’ report, 55 per cent of the gold seized was smuggled through land borders, 36 per cent through air, and 9 per cent through sea routes. The porous borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh are a growing concern for India and a likely reason why land routes account for the highest share of gold smuggling.

 

Smugglers favour air routes as well, often deploying multiple carriers transporting smaller quantities of gold to evade security checks and reduce exposure to import duties.

 

The report said that West Asia and Southeast Asian countries have traditionally been major air routes for smuggling. Data provided by India’s aviation regulator shows that international incoming passengers from West Asia doubled from 7.1 million in 2021–22 to 14 million in 2022–23, and further to 16 million in 2023–24. Passenger arrivals from Southeast Asian countries rose from 311,797 to 4.5 million and then to 6.1 million over the same period, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

 

Mumbai’s share in gold seizures at airports increased from 8.7 per cent in FY21 to 29.4 per cent in FY24, and further to 44.9 per cent in FY26. Delhi International Airport’s share increased from 8.8 per cent to 14.9 per cent, while Chennai’s declined from 15.1 per cent to just 3.8 per cent.  

 

Mumbai airport is preferred for gold smuggling because it is a transit hub and a large market for the precious metal. Despite the reduction in import duty on gold, media reports suggest that gold smuggling in India has increased, especially around Dhanteras and Diwali. Seizures at airports like Chennai have declined due to stricter security checks, duty reductions, and the possibility of smuggling activities shifting to alternative routes, according to media reports.