KOCHI: The airports in Kerala, especially Kozhikode airport, remain the main gateways for gold smugglers with 232kg of yellow metal being seized in the state till November this year. However, because of Covid restrictions and limited flight services, the quantity of gold seized and the number of smuggling incidents have declined in Kerala since 2020.
As per the data tabled in Parliament this month, Kozhikode airport remains second in the country in terms of the quantity of gold seized this year. The gold seized at the airport till November this year was 128.170kg, second to Chennai airport where 130.109kg was seized. While 62.281kg of smuggled gold was seized at the Kochi airport till November this year, Kannur airport recorded a seizure of 28.939kg of gold.
Thiruvananthapuram airport is witnessing a steep decline in gold seizure incidents these days with just 12.820kg being seized till November this year. In comparison, around 300kg of gold was recovered in the entire 2020. “The smuggling incidents at Kozhikode international airport are the chief concern for the customs. Even during the lockdown period, the flow of smuggled gold through the airport was high as compared to other airports in the state,” said a senior customs officer.
Gold seizure at T’Puram airport witnesses drop
Last year, when 150kg of gold was recovered, the quantity seized was nearly 130kg at the airport in 11 months this year. “The encouraging part is that the seizure of gold at Thiruvananthapuram airport is coming down,” the officer said.
Apart from Kerala, airports in neighbouring states also witnessed the seizure of large quantities of gold this year. Chennai airport witnessed the highest in the entire country till November with 130.109kg being seized. Trichy International Airport recorded a seizure of 78.451kg of gold, while Coimbatore and Madurai airports saw the seizure of 19.131kg and 6.390kg, respectively.
Bengaluru airport saw a seizure of 25.602kg and Mangaluru airport 13.863kg of smuggled gold. “In over 60% of seizures now, the gold is smuggled in the compound form. It is very hard to detect the gold when it is in compound form. The customs has enhanced intelligence gathering which resulted in a number of seizures.”
“We also suspect that the seizure of gold at airports in neighbouring states are linked with the smuggling rackets in Kerala. We had a few cases in Kerala in which gold that landed at airports in Tamil Nadu was brought via rail and road routes,” an officer said.