THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Smuggled gold worth approximately Rs 1,277 crore was seized by the customs and central excise from four international airports in the state between January 2021 and October 2025, data accessed by TNIE has revealed.
The customs registered as many as 2,339 cases of gold seizure during the period with Kochi recording the most number of cases: 935. The price of the seized booty has been calculated on the basis of the tariff value set by the customs department, which is lower than the market value. If the seized consignments are valued against the market price, the collective value of the yellow metal would easily cross Rs 3,000 crore.
Tariff value is the fixed price set by the customs to calculate import duty. For the first two weeks of February, it is Rs 1.37 lakh per 10 grams of 24K gold. The market rate for the same during the period hovers between Rs 1.56 and 1.57 lakh.
As per the data, gold smuggling in the state peaked in 2022—That was when the Union government hiked the import tax to 18.45%—going by the quantity of gold seized. In 771 instances, gold worth Rs 678 crore was seized that year.
The seizure saw an increase by 315% compared to the corresponding figure for 2021 (Rs 163 crore). However, the cases plunged in 2024 after the Centre slashed the total import tax to 6%. During the year, gold worth about Rs 148 crore was seized in 444 incidents. The year 2025 too recorded fewer attempts to smuggle gold as only 55 seizures collectively valued at Rs 22 crore were made until October.
Customs sources said the fall in margin of profit prompted gold smugglers to suspend their activities. “Before 2024, one kg of smuggled gold fetched a profit of about Rs 10 lakh. This fell to less than Rs 2.5 lakh after the 2024 Union Budget that slashed the taxes. Gold smuggling suddenly became a not-so-profitable venture. The risk-benefit ratio is now so skewed that even existing rackets are moving away and no new ones are coming in,” said a source.