Smugglers race on illegal golden track

Smuggling gold from GCC countries to South Asia has been on the rise and several arrests were made at the airports in India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh in recent months.

Sources say it is the price difference that is tempting these smugglers to carry large quantities of gold illegally into South Asian countries. Two Indian travellers who landed in India from Bahrain recently were arrested for smuggling gold worth a combined value of more than BD 25,000.

They were arrested in separate instances by the Indian authorities after they attempted to smuggle gold from Bahrain. The first incident involved an Indian man in his fifties who was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport in the city of Bangalore.

The man, who lives in a village in Kodagu district, hid the gold in his trousers’ pockets. He had cut the gold into small pieces before concealing it in his pockets. According to sources, the value of the gold smuggled was close to BD 6,000. The second case which also took place recently occurred in Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the city of Delhi.

A man was arrested for smuggling 11 bars of gold. The value of the gold was estimated to be over BD 20,000, sources said. Indian authorities have also confirmed the incidents. Further details were revealed by Amandeep Singh, additional commissioner of customs, Indira Gandhi International Airport to Hindustan Times.

“We arrested another Indian who had landed from Bahrain. He was arrested after 11 gold bars worth Indian rupees 39 lakh were recovered from him. A security staff of an airline was also arrested for facilitating him,” Singh said.