The State witnessed an unprecedented gold rush through all its international airports in the just-concluded financial year going by the statistics drawn up by the Customs Department.
The number of cases for gold smuggling went up from 242 in 2017-18 to 1,102, an increase of 455%. The quantity of gold seized also made a quantum jump from 103.57 kg to 417.49 kg, registering a staggering increase of 404%.
Consequently, the value of gold seized from the airports rose from ₹28.99 crore in 2017-18 to ₹122.85 crore, a rise of 424%.
More cases at Kozhikode
While the Cochin international airport accounted for 464 cases, the Kozhikode airport witnessed 530 cases, Thiruvananthapuram airport 103 cases and the recently opened Kannur international airport five cases of gold smuggling.
The quantity of gold attempted to be smuggled in through these airports stood at 166.96 kg, 199.08 kg, 47.89 kg and 3.56 kg respectively.
“We were able to break all records despite being handicapped by manpower shortage and infrastructure shortcomings through the persistent and determined work of our officers. The combined seizures of gold from the airports account for nearly half a tonne. We are hoping to go beyond that in the new financial year,” Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar told The Hindu.
However, it remains to be seen whether it has made any significant dent in the business of the smuggling rackets, as a rough estimate put the smuggled gold ending up in the State at 80 tonnes, both directly and indirectly, a year.
At a high
The rise in seizures was not limited to gold alone, as the seizure of cigarettes and foreign currencies also registered significant rise. The number of cases of cigarette smuggling rose from a mere 115 in 2017-18 to 531 cases in 2018-19, registering a rise of 462%, whereas the quantity seized and its value rose from 19.60 lakh cigarette sticks to 45.07 lakh cigarette sticks and ₹90.36 lakh and ₹2.59 crore respectively.
The number of cases for attempted smuggling of foreign currency soared from 10 to 46 with their collective value rising from ₹2.42 crore to ₹20.81 crore.
In fact, Customs registered the largest seizure of ₹11 crore worth of foreign currencies at the Kochi airport.
Besides, Customs registered six cases for attempted smuggling in of Indian currency to the tune of ₹1.68 crore during 2018-19.