GOLD SMUGGLERS WHO TRIED TO TARNISH MISSION IN INDIA ‘WILL NOT BE SPARED’
▶ Authorities in India and UAE are investigating who transported precious metal in ‘major crime’
A major investigation is under way in India after customs officials intercepted Dh7 million worth of gold being smuggled from the UAE to Kerala.
One person was arrested in the state’s capital city of Thiruvananthapuram after 30 kilograms of gold was concealed in a package labelled “foodstuff”.
The shipment was addressed to the UAE consulate in the city and arrived in India from the Emirates through air cargo. It was found on July 5.
The precious metal had been moulded into cylinders and hidden inside aluminium tubes used to manufacture locks.
Organised crime gangs in India and the Middle East work with smiths to mould the metal so it can be placed inside items made of other dense matter or hidden inside smugglers’ bodies.
The Emirati embassy in the Indian capital, New Delhi, described the incident as a “major crime” and said the culprits who “sought to tarnish the reputation of the UAE mission in India will not be spared”.
“The authorities in the UAE have launched an investigation to find out who sent the cargo containing gold to the address of the UAE consulate,” the embassy said on Twitter.
“We remain committed to co-operating with Indian authorities in getting to the root of the crime.”
Emirati officials said investigating agencies in India and the UAE were working together closely to track down the crime syndicate responsible.
High taxes in India make smuggling gold from the Middle East a lucrative business.
The goods and services levy on gold in India is 18 per cent, meaning the saving on a consignment of this size would be about Dh1.25 million.
Kerala’s chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, wrote to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging federal agencies to conduct a thorough investigation in light of the “serious implications” of the crime.
“That the attempt to smuggle [a] huge quantity of gold was concealed in diplomatic baggage makes the matter extremely serious,” he wrote.
Kerala customs officials confiscated more than a tonne of gold last year in raids at seaports and airports.
Customs commissioner Sumit Kumar told the elaborate system involved financiers, carriers and complex logistics to transport the gold while evading X-rays and metal detectors. “All such operations are run by syndicates because only they have this kind of money, plus additional packing and storing they must pay the intermediary helping them.
“For example gold that is brought by human carriers is sold in a paste,” he said.
“There are organised networks, people who finance this, people who do the logistics, help them get it out, people who transport it and those who take it to the unsuspecting final customer.”
Mr Kumar said his officers conduct about 700 raids a year.
More than 550kg of gold was uncovered last year in Kerala state alone.
“People do body concealment or in goods sent on aircraft, concealment in ships in containers,” Mr Kumar said.
“Nobody will get gold in the pure form openly because then it is as good as handing it over to us.
“All cargo is scanned, so a syndicate uses dense goods to place it into so that during a scan, the image is not something out of the ordinary.
“Even in a physical examination, you may not see it.
“You need break up the item to find it.”
Mr Kumar said investigations were being conducted with help from the UAE.
Officials were checking documents and evidence to trace the consignment.
“We are gathering information and examining the technical evidence to find out other people who can come forward and help us,” he said.
“We need to find out who sent the consignment, who got clearance done, who it was intended for, who purchased and who financed it.”
Acting on a tip-off, customs officers seized the box on July 5 after obtaining clearance to do so from the UAE embassy.
The cylindrical metal lock units were placed inside a carton containing food, speakers and a pair of shoes. A former employee of the Emirati consulate in Kerala has been arrested, and police are on the lookout for an accomplice.
The find sparked an uproar in Kerala, with demands from opposition parties for a full investigation.
Two government employees were dismissed, including a top aide to the chief minister.
Another former staff member, whom the aide had hired, is sought in relation to the plot.
She had worked with the consulate for three years.
Under the Indian Customs Act, the maximum prison sentence for smuggling gold is seven years.
Mridul John, a defence lawyer who has previously worked on such cases, said most people caught had travelled from the Middle East.
“The relationship between Kerala and the Gulf is very strong.
“This is a large amount of gold, so it’s the economics that matters,” he said.
Mr John said gold was frequently placed inside electronic equipment, or disguised as food, but the size of last Sunday’s haul was unusual.
“These people used the connection of working with the consulate even though they were not staffers any more,” he said. “The case has got so much interest because of the connection with the UAE consulate and government of Kerala officials.”
While gold is frequently smuggled to India from the Middle East, the size of the haul seized last week is unusual