With rise in gold prices in India, the smuggling of the yellow metal to Chennai has increased in the last two months. Customs officials in the city airport have seized Rs 1.75 crore worth gold and arrested 23 people, five of them women, in the last two months.
The customs department arrested four people on Friday after they were found carrying undeclared gold worth about Rs 90 lakh.
Customs officials kept a watch on Mohamed Rishony (40) who reached the city airport on Thursday night in a Sri Lankan Airlines flight. While his baggage was cleared, the sleuths got suspicious about the size of the amulets he was carrying, which, on examination, were found to contain gold biscuits.
In a similar incident, the officials also seized undeclared gold from three women, who tried to smuggle them into India as imitation jewellery. Karunanithy Krishnaveni, Swarna Latha and Sabia Banu reached the city airport in a Sri Lankan Airlines flight at 1.30 am. While checking their hand baggage, the customs officials found gold jewellery in the form of chains, bracelets and necklaces.
When enquired, the women tried to bluff their way by saying the jewels were gold covering and they had brought it for selling in Chennai. However, on verification, the customs officials found them to be 24 carat pure gold painted with gold covering on the outside.
“In order to evade duty, the passengers attempted to take the gold without declaring it to customs,” said Mr Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, customs commissioner, Airport and Air Cargo. He added that 3 kg of gold, of which 800 gm was pure 24-carat gold jewellery, totally worth Rs 90 lakh, was seized from the four.
Gold retailers said the passengers have to pay 4.5 per cent as customs duty for gold, which is very high. “Even my selling price will not have that much margin,” a retailer added. He pointed out that Lanka was the nearest airport for south India where consumption of gold is very high. “There is no production of gold in Sri Lanka, but the country is a transit point,” he explained.