This story is from February 11, 2020

7.2kg gold seized at SVPI airport, six held

In a major operation, officials of Ahmedabad customs booked 13 cases in the wee hours of Saturday, wherein 7.2kg smuggled gold was seized. This is the fourth case of gold seizure since January reported at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad and six persons have been arrested by Ahmedabad customs. According to customs officials, the seized gold was valued at Rs 3.06 crore.
7.2kg gold seized at SVPI airport, six held
Representative image
AHMEDABAD: In a major operation, officials of Ahmedabad customs booked 13 cases in the wee hours of Saturday, wherein 7.2kg smuggled gold was seized. This is the fourth case of gold seizure since January reported at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad and six persons have been arrested by Ahmedabad customs. According to customs officials, the seized gold was valued at Rs 3.06 crore.
“The incident took place in the wee hours of Saturday, wherein some 13 passengers coming from different destinations were booked from the SVPI airport.
Most of them were from middle-eastern countries including Sharjah and Dubai in the UAE along with Doha in Qatar and Kuwait. Some passengers were also from Bangkok,” said a well-placed source.
The passengers belonged mainly to Kerala, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Three of these passengers were booked based on prior inputs whereas the rest were booked based on spot intelligence.
Upon investigation, it was found that multiple modus operandi were used to smuggle the gold. “Some passengers were carrying gold in paste form concealed in their rectums. Some other passengers were also carrying gold in their clothing including socks, trousers, jackets, jeans and even undergarments,” the source further added.
In fact, some passengers were also carrying gold in the support structure of trolley bags. According to Ahmedabad customs, only 6 of the 13 passengers who were booked were arrested, because the gold that they were carrying was valued less than amounts that merited arrest.
Further investigation is in progress in respective cases, confirmed senior officials of Ahmedabad customs.
Prior to these cases reported recently, Ahmedabad customs had registered some 113 cases of gold smuggling between April 1, 2019 and January 31, 2020, and seized 77kg gold worth Rs 27.11 crore from Ahmedabad and Surat airports. Majority of the apprehended passengers arrived from Dubai, Sharjah, Oman, Kuwait and Bangkok, customs officials said.
Sources also said that cases of gold smuggling have gone up with the rise in gold prices and high basic customs duty on gold which stands at 12.5% as on date. Gold price stood at Rs 42,040 per 10 gram in the Ahmedabad market on Monday.
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