According to the 2021-22 Smuggling in India report, cases of gold smuggling have increased in the country during the Corona period. A total of 160 cases of smuggling were caught last year. Of these, a total of 833.07 kg gold worth Rs 405.35 crore was seized. Most of the gold seized by DRI in 2020-21 and 2021-22 was smuggled from Myanmar. In 2019-20, this title was with the Middle East. A new trend has been observed in gold smuggling in the country. Smuggling of gold through courier has increased. The reason for this is that international flights were closed during the Corona period and people were not allowed to travel abroad.
where is the gold coming from
Smuggling of gold through land (road and rail) has increased due to the closure of air traffic during the Corona period. Most of this gold reached India via Myanmar. It is very difficult to monitor the border between India and Myanmar and smugglers take advantage of this. According to the report, the Tamu-Moreh-Imphal route of Manipur bordering Myanmar and the Jokhatwar route of Mizoram are the most smuggled gold in the country. However, the DRI has increased surveillance on these routes, due to which a large amount of gold has been seized.
According to the report, many people had to lose their jobs during the Corona period. A large number of overseas Indians working in the unorganized and low-wage sectors, especially in the Gulf countries, became unemployed. As soon as air traffic started, many of these people turned to their homeland. The brokers took advantage of this opportunity. Gold was smuggled by luring them. This gold was in the form of paste and powder. Many of these people were caught. A very small amount of gold was seized from them.
New ways of smuggling
Smugglers are adopting new methods to smuggle gold. According to the report, on July 16, 2021, four courier parcels from UAE to Delhi were intercepted at the New Courier Terminal. It contained auto and other machinery parts. But on deeper investigation, 16.79 kg gold was found out of it, which was worth Rs 8.07 crore. This gold was melted and kept hidden among the machines. Again on July 22, 2021, two such parcels were intercepted. More than 11 kg gold was seized from them. This too was hidden in the machines.
Similarly, on May 12, 2022, DRI launched Operation Golden Tap. In this, a gang smuggling gold from China was busted. This gang was smuggling gold from Guangzhou, China. It was claimed to have triangle valves. In these the gold was cleverly hidden. One part of the valve was made of gold but it was plated with nickel. The rest of the valve was made of steel. Over 61 kg of gold was recovered from one such consignment. Its cost is Rs 31.2 crore.
China’s gang busted
According to the report, the DRI had launched an operation on November 19, 2021 to catch foreign smugglers. It was named Molten Metal. The agency had received information that citizens of China, Taiwan and South Korea were involved in this work. These people used to smuggle gold through air cargo route from Hong Kong. It was being imported as machinery parts and then here it was being converted into bars and consumed in the market. On this basis, DRI seized a consignment of machinery parts originating from Hong Kong. Gold plating was done in it and a layer of nickel was plated on it.
During the search operation, it was found that in Chhatarpur and Gurugram, there is a racket of making bars from smuggled gold. Four foreign nationals were caught in this. Of these, two were from South Korea and one each from China and Taiwan. This work was being done by renting houses in South Delhi and Gurugram. These people were doing this work so cleanly that even the neighbors did not get a clue of their work. A total of 85 kg gold worth Rs 42 crore was recovered from these people.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
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