Poor Indians targeted by smugglers to sneak in gold in belts, underwear, computers

India’s penchant for gold and high duties has made it a gold smuggling hotspot, with over 3,000kg confiscated in the first 11 months of 2022

Smugglers use mules or underprivileged people as carriers, with most of the smuggled gold coming from the Middle East

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A woman tries on a gold necklace at a jewellery showroom in Mumbai. India’s penchant for gold and high duties makes it a gold smuggling destination. Photo: Reuters

Published: 7:30pm, 5 Jan 2023Updated: 7:35pm, 5 Jan 2023

India’s appetite for gold is legendary and goes back centuries, but that craving for the precious metal, along with high import duties has turned the country into a prime destination for smugglers, with one jewellery executive calling for more regulation to prevent the illegal trade from flourishing.

Indian investigators have also found links between local politicians, officials, gold traders, and the international gold mafia. In February last year, 43-year old Bangalore resident Raees Ahmed Ikkeri was arrested for aiding and abetting an interstate gold smuggling racket, through various ports in the country.

In another smuggling racket, gold worth 150 million Indian rupees (US$1.84 million) was seized from the diplomatic baggage of the UAE consulate at Thiruvananthapuram airport in Kerala in July 2020.

Several people were arrested in connection with the matter including M Sivasankar, the former Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Swapna Suresh, an ex-employee of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram.

Gold seizures by enforcement authorities reached a three-year high confiscating 3,083kg of the precious metal in the first 11 months of 2022.

The Canada-based non governmental organisation IMPACT estimated that 25 per cent of gold in India, around 200 to 225 tonnes come through illegal channels.

Many people use mules or underprivileged people as carriers.