Daijiworld Media Network

New Delhi, Jun 10: A number of methods invented by gold smugglers to hoodwink customs officials and metal detectors alike, have baffled officials of revenue intelligence and tax departments. It may be recalled that the smugglers had tried to smuggle in gold in powdered form mixed with coffee powder through Mangalore and Ahmedabad international airports some time back.

The smugglers are lured by the huge profit they make out of smuggled gold, and hence, seem to be undaunted by a number of smuggling cases foiled by the officials at various airports and huge fines levied on the passengers used for such operations. Smugglers are constantly in search of new ways and means to bring gold into the country, after the government raised duty on gold import in an attempt to address the issue of balance of payment issues arising out of uncontrolled import of the yellow metal.

The smugglers are found to be employing tricks like bringing gold in the form of thin wires fitted in television tubes, mixer grinder motors, etc. A recent meeting of officials from the department of customs and revenue intelligence held at Goa prepared a list of new tricks employed by gold smugglers, apart from discussing ways and means to foil them.

One of the more successful methods of smuggling is said to be hiding boxes full of gold under water at the bottom of ships, and bringing these boxes out when security is lax. The smugglers, it is learnt, have also employed the plan of attaching gold boxes outside the bottoms of the ships securely, and bringing them out when the security at ports is not tight. Insertion of golden sheets between zinc sheets is stated to be another method that is popular among the smugglers, as this goes undetected by X-ray machines.

The officials as well as the government are worried, as the smuggling not only foils the efforts to bring down gold imports, but also inflicts loss of revenue that is genuinely due to the government.

At present however, no other choice but to tighten intelligence system, strengthen vigilance, and making the customs officials at airports more alert, seems to be available for the government to stop the stop the smugglers on the tracks.