CHENNAI: The total quantity of smuggled gold seized by enforcement agencies and the number of such cases dropped by around 50% in 2024-25 in comparison to the previous year, latest data tabled by the Union Finance Ministry in Parliament on August 18 show.
While 4,971.68 kg of gold was seized in 6,599 cases in FY24, the seizure amount and the number of cases dropped to 2,600 kg and 3,005 in FY25 respectively. The data covered seizures of gold smuggled through land, sea and other routes across the country.
Smuggled gold seizures by customs at Chennai International Airport mirror this trend, as reported by the TNIE two months ago. Chennai is among the airports with the highest quantity of gold seized by customs across the country, accounting for roughly 6% of the total volume of gold seized.
The total quantity of gold seized by Chennai customs had dropped from 310 kg in FY24 to 160 kg in FY25. This is primarily due to the reduction of gold import duty from 15% to 6% announced by the union government in July 2024, which made it a less lucrative business. Sources in the industry said the margin in the gold smuggling trade is the import duty and hence its reduction has a proportional impact on their profits.
Sources also pointed out that while reduction in duty decreases the gross profit, there is no commensurate decrease in commissions paid to gold carriers who smuggle the precious metal and the bribes paid to officials and other colluding members of the gang. For example, the price of 24-carat gold in Chennai is around Rs 1.02 lakh for 10gm which is around Rs 7,000 more than that in Dubai. By smuggling 1 kg of gold, the smuggling syndicate will earn only Rs 7 lakh gross profit.
After paying commissions, bribes and wages, only a miniscule portion remains, which is not worth the risk, sources said. To balance this, gangs have started focussing on smuggling electronics, narcotics (mainly hydroponic weed from Thailand), e-cigarettes, and exotic wildlife, where profit margins are higher, official sources said.