Mumbai: The city airport has seen a 73% increase in gold seizures in FY24. A customs commissioner , who spoke on condition of anonymity, said smugglers were increasingly engaging the services of foreigners, particularly Sudan, Nigeria and Thai nationals, most of them women. Another official said the smuggling syndicates were constantly looking for people from poor countries who were willing to take the risk.
“More than 40% to 50% smugglers escape with the contraband, and those caught may be just the tip of the smuggling iceberg,” the official said. The international airport in the city has always been a favourite of gold smugglers , and central agencies like the customs and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have ramped up their drives at the airport in recent months. In 2023-24, the air customs in the city recorded 1,809 cases of gold seizure.
The agency uncovered cases of gold smuggling involving ingenious methods, from disguising gold as everyday items like shampoo and lotion to more unusual items like bicycle parts hidden within the frame. DRI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers have found passengers hiding gold in chewing-gum packets, sewing machines, wheelchair frames and suitcase liners. Other ways of concealing gold ranged from disguising it as juice powder and pancake powder, hiding it within plastic plates and vacuum cleaners, and keeping it between cardboard sheets of toy boxes, roti-making machines and hair dryers.
Bras, wigs, baby powder cont.
