India

Across Airports, Borders, Coasts: Gold Smuggling on Rise in India with New Routes and Methods

By GS Team

1 Sep 20263 mins read

DRI busts a massive gold and silver smuggling ring across India, seizing over 52kg of precious metals worth ₹65 crore and arresting 25 individuals, including foreign nationals. Organized networks exploited airports, land borders, and coastal routes, using ingenious concealment methods like body cavities and hidden compartments. This operation highlights the evolving tactics of international smuggling syndicates.

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Across Airports, Borders, Coasts: Gold Smuggling on Rise in India with New Routes and Methods

6.85 kg gold in wax form seized at Mumbai airport

Gold smuggling appears to be taking new forms across India, with organized networks using airports, land borders, coastal routes and even passenger bodies to move foreign-origin gold into the country. In a series of operations in recent days, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized more than 42 kg of foreign-origin gold and around 10 kg of silver worth over ₹65 crore. A total of 25 people, including five foreign nationals, were arrested in operations across Mumbai, Kolkata, Kerala, Guwahati and Tamil Nadu.

Airports Become Key Routes for Smuggling

At Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, DRI found a network involving foreign nationals travelling through Mumbai from Dubai, Bangkok and Male. An airport staff member was also allegedly helping the syndicate remove smuggled gold from the airport. On August 28-29, officers recovered 6.85 kg of 24-carat gold dust in wax form from 16 capsules and arrested six people. In Kolkata, two passengers arriving from Dubai were found carrying 4.87 kg of gold hidden in their undergarments and jeans, while another passenger from Bangkok was carrying 3.36 kg of gold in the form of 11 raw chains.

15.61 kg gold seized by DRI in coordination with BSF in Nadia district

Gold Hidden Inside Clothes and the Human Body

Smugglers are also using highly concealed methods to avoid detection. In Kolkata, four people were allegedly carrying 1.48 kg of foreign-origin gold paste in five capsules hidden inside their bodies during a domestic road journey. Their alleged handler was also arrested. In Kerala, 1.78 kg of gold was recovered from a passenger arriving from Ras Al Khaimah, while another passenger arriving from Jeddah was found carrying 549 grams of 24-carat gold hidden inside specially created cavities in an iron box.

1.74 kg gold seized by DRI in coordination with BSF

Land and Coastal Routes Also Being Used

The smuggling network is not limited to airports. Along the Indo-Bangladesh border, DRI and BSF seized 935 grams and 1.74 kg of foreign-origin gold in two separate operations on August 26-27, arresting one person in each case. In Guwahati, 3.84 kg of foreign-origin gold allegedly brought through the Tripura sector of the Indo-Bangladesh border was seized and two people were arrested. In Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, DRI seized 1.36 kg of foreign-origin gold and 9.99 kg of foreign-origin silver allegedly brought through the coastal route from Sri Lanka, with three people arrested.

Organised Networks Use Multiple Routes

The seizures show that gold-smuggling networks are using different routes and concealment methods at the same time. Foreign nationals, transit passengers, airport personnel and local handlers are allegedly being used at different stages of the operation. The repeated recovery of gold at airports, borders and coastal areas points to a wider and organised smuggling network that is finding new ways to move precious metals into India.