Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Customs haul in 19 months from Surat and Ahmedabad airports: 140 kg of gold

Ahmedabad: Over 140 kilograms of ‘illegal’ gold was seized by the Customs department in 19 months from the international airports of Ahmedabad and Surat where a total of 207 cases of smuggling were filed during the period, indicating a racket functioning out of Ahmedabad and Rajkot, according to Customs officials.

After an illegal shipment of 24 kilograms of gold was intercepted at Ahmedabad airport in June 2019, the department is working to unearth a gold smuggling racket where 4,000 kg of gold worth Rs 1,400 crore is believed to have been smuggled into India over five years, of which 1,800 kg was meant for Rajkot alone.

“Of the 4,000 kilograms of gold which we suspected to have been smuggled, we have got evidence that 1800 kilogram would have gone only to Rajkot,” said Kumar Santosh, Principal Commissioner, Customs, Ahmedabad, on Monday.

This financial year alone, the seized gold were found hidden in human body parts including rectum, in 67 per cent of the total cases, say officials who suspect involvement of jewellers from Ahmedabad and Rajkot.
“The Ahmedabad Customs has booked 60 cases of gold smuggling and seized 54.72 kilograms of gold valued at Rs 16.64 crore in the current financial year 2019-20. An additional 14 cases of smuggling was registered at Surat airport where 6.5 kilograms of gold worth Rs 2.15 crore was seized,” said Kumar Santosh, Principal Commi-ssioner, Customs Ahmedabad. In 2018, in 133 cases, a total of 81.41 kilograms of gold worth Rs 23.75 crore was seized from those flying into the state.
12/11/19 Indian Express
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