Smugglers pushing in gold through Nepal, Bangla borders.

​NEW DELHI: As the 10% import duty on gold spurs unprecedented smuggling and authorities crack the whip, smugglers are skipping the traditional airport route and are tapping into fake currency networks across the Indo-Bangladesh and Indo-Nepal border to push in the yellow metal.

Investigations and seizures by financial intelligence agencies in the recent past have revealed that smugglers are now flying consignments of gold to Bangladesh and Nepal and then using couriers to carry them across the border.

In the past few months, over 50 kg of gold worth more than Rs 15 crore has been smuggled across the Indo-Bangladesh border alone. Sources in Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said Nepal too has come up on the radar with some recent seizures on the border. Sources said this was only a fraction of what was being smuggled through these borders.

Increase in import duty on gold to 10% has created a gap in prices with places such as Dubai and Thailand where duty is only 1%. This year (up to October), close to 800 kg of smuggled gold has been seized. This is more than double of last year's haul of 350 kg.

DRI sources said the increase in seizures was also due to customs authorities keeping a strict vigil on airports. "That is why human couriers on Indo-Bangladesh border are being used as it is very difficult for customs authorities to man these porous borders. These borders already have a well-oiled network of smugglers who are engaged in fake currency and cattle smuggling," a senior DRI officer said.

Elaborating on the modus operandi, sources said gold was bought in places like Dubai and Thailand and flown to Dhaka or Kathmandu where authorities are not as vigilant. The consignment is then brought to the border and stored in safe houses.

"From here, human couriers are hired and given one or two bars to take across the border. It is very difficult to detect such small amounts on a long border. These couriers make two to five trips a day and thus manage to carry considerable gold in a day. The gold is then collected and stored on the Indian side and transported to unscrupulous jewelers in cities," the officer said.

Smugglers are also bringing gold through Sri Lanka using small fishing boats which are difficult to track and intercept, sources said.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com