Gold Worth Rs 4 Crore Kept Hidden In Underwear Seized At Surat Airport, Two Held

Surat: Two persons who h concealed gold worth Rs 4.72 crore in ir underwear were arrested at Surat Airport, police said on Sunday. 

duo accused identified as Vipul Sheliya and Abhay Kilaji h landed at Surat Airport from a Sharjah flight. 

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials recovered around 6 kg of gold in bar-and-paste form.

Gold Kept Hidden In Underwear, Two Nabbed At Surat Airport

Both have been sent to judicial custody, officials said. 

DRI is w investigating if accused are linked to any syndicate involved in gold smuggling. 

Authorities are w probing ir past travel history.

Despite a reduction in customs duty on gold from 15% to 6% earlier this year, which was expected to curb illegal gold smuggling, re has been a surprising rise in major gold seizure cases.

Meanwhile, as part of its ongoing crackdown on gold and hawala smuggling, Kerala Police have seized nearly 150 kg of gold, valued at Rs 81 crore, and registered 337 hawala cases, confiscating approximately Rs 123 crore over past five years. 

In 2023, authorities at Kozhikode airport seized a total of 298 kilograms of gold worth nearly Rs 200 crore, with customs officials confiscating 270 kg and police seizing an ditional 28 kg. largest gold smuggling bust occurred in 2022, when 80 kg of gold was seized across 98 cases. In 2023, number of cases dropped to 61, involving 49 kg of gold, and so far this year, 18 kg of gold has been seized.

Hawala fund detection reached its peak in 2023, with 94 cases involving Rs 39 crore uncovered. previous year saw 67 cases worth Rs 35.5 crore, while in current year, 67 hawala cases amounting to Rs 150 crore have alrey been detected.