Gold weighing 12.34 kg and valued at Rs 3.76 crore has been seized by Central Excise and Customs personnel so far this financial year, a top official in the GST Commissionerate said today.
Despite the novel 'modus operandi' adopted by smugglers and carriers to bring gold into the country, the department was able to trace it through modern scanners and other equipment, GST Commissioner (Audit) N J Kumaresh told reporters here.
He also referred to yesterday's seizure of 816 grams of gold valued at Rs 25 lakh at the aiport here, in the shape of match sticks hidden in handles of five kitchen knives.
With this, the total seizure from April 2017 till yesterday amounted to Rs 3.76 crore, he said.
However, the seizure during 2015-16 and 2016-17 was low, with gold weighing 1.89 kg and 1.87 kg respectively, valued at Rs 50 lakh and Rs 56 lakh respectively, he said.
Kumaresh attributed the lower seizure to change of destinations or alert on intensified checking in the city airport, as the gold being smuggled through Coimbatore was mainly meant to Kerala customers either in Kozhikode or Kannur.
However, the figure was higher in 2014-15 amounting to Rs 3.37 crore weighing 12.43 kg, Kumaresh said.
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