The Customs department, which raided 23 places in Thrissur on Wednesday and seized 123 kg of gold suspected to be smuggled into the state, said yesterday that it had intelligence that over 250 kg of the precious metal would come to Thrissur before Diwali.
The operation which started in July-end with collection of intelligence on the movement of couriers carrying smuggled gold from Madras and Trichy to gold traders in Thrissur concluded on Wednesday morning by striking exactly on the premises where the smuggled gold was kept. The carriers used to travel in groups of 5 to 10 members and used to get Rs.3,000/- for smuggling a kg of gold; carried them as cut pieces, crude ornaments and biscuits.
So, where and how does the gold come from?
Origin of smuggled gold
* Gulf countries.
* Bangkok.
* Sri Lanka.
* Malaysia and
* Singapore.
How smuggled gold enters Kerala market
Gold reaches India via airports, sea landings, border smuggling and smuggling through container ships. Customs officers say that the latest trend is that gold is smuggled to exchange hubs in Kerala like Thrissur through public transport like trains, interstate buses, passenger buses, etc.
Which are the exchange hubs?
Customs officers who made Wednesday's seizure say that carriers used to shuttle between Thrissur, Trichy and Madras. The gold is suspected to be processed and resold from here. The exact link between the origin and destination of the smuggled gold is yet to be identified. Koduvally in Kozhikode, is also a similar destination.
What's the loss to the exchequer?
The customs duty on gold is 12.5%. Adding 3% GST to it, 15.5% of the value is supposed to reach the government exchequer as taxes and smuggling denies this revenue to the government.
How it affects the customer?
Sources say that the ornaments are sold at cheaper rates by decreasing by decreasing making charges. Customs officers say that the duty saved through smuggling, most probably, becomes the profit of those in the industry who use smuggled gold.
Sea landings
* Smuggling in various vessels to the Tamilnadu coast.
* Smuggling using container ships.
Border smuggling
Gold smuggled in through borders of neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and China are later transported to various states.
Carriers
* Mostly youth.
* Each one carries a kilo of gold.
* They use public transport and travel in small groups.
Note. Courtesy ToI.
Tailpiece.
Attended the late Vinod Kumar Vasudev and Sujatha's daughter, Parvathy's wedding at the Hotel Devaragam auditorium that commenced at 0630 hrs with the 'thaalikettu' at the temple, attended by the close family members. We'd fetched up at a half past 8. Met Vinod's elder sister and her husband. MS Mohan Nair-Asha, Padmasenan-Sujatha, KS Venugopal, KN Mohandas, Chacko Ipe-Sara and self-Lekha had attended from among our classmates. It was a well conducted function with the right amount of pomp and show. Here's wishing Vignesh and Parvathy a very happy and long married life and everything that they wish for in their life together!
KS Venugopal(413) came home for dinner. It was nice to hear him on various things!
The operation which started in July-end with collection of intelligence on the movement of couriers carrying smuggled gold from Madras and Trichy to gold traders in Thrissur concluded on Wednesday morning by striking exactly on the premises where the smuggled gold was kept. The carriers used to travel in groups of 5 to 10 members and used to get Rs.3,000/- for smuggling a kg of gold; carried them as cut pieces, crude ornaments and biscuits.
So, where and how does the gold come from?
Origin of smuggled gold
* Gulf countries.
* Bangkok.
* Sri Lanka.
* Malaysia and
* Singapore.
How smuggled gold enters Kerala market
Gold reaches India via airports, sea landings, border smuggling and smuggling through container ships. Customs officers say that the latest trend is that gold is smuggled to exchange hubs in Kerala like Thrissur through public transport like trains, interstate buses, passenger buses, etc.
Which are the exchange hubs?
Customs officers who made Wednesday's seizure say that carriers used to shuttle between Thrissur, Trichy and Madras. The gold is suspected to be processed and resold from here. The exact link between the origin and destination of the smuggled gold is yet to be identified. Koduvally in Kozhikode, is also a similar destination.
What's the loss to the exchequer?
The customs duty on gold is 12.5%. Adding 3% GST to it, 15.5% of the value is supposed to reach the government exchequer as taxes and smuggling denies this revenue to the government.
How it affects the customer?
Sources say that the ornaments are sold at cheaper rates by decreasing by decreasing making charges. Customs officers say that the duty saved through smuggling, most probably, becomes the profit of those in the industry who use smuggled gold.
Sea landings
* Smuggling in various vessels to the Tamilnadu coast.
* Smuggling using container ships.
Border smuggling
Gold smuggled in through borders of neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and China are later transported to various states.
Carriers
* Mostly youth.
* Each one carries a kilo of gold.
* They use public transport and travel in small groups.
Note. Courtesy ToI.
Tailpiece.
Attended the late Vinod Kumar Vasudev and Sujatha's daughter, Parvathy's wedding at the Hotel Devaragam auditorium that commenced at 0630 hrs with the 'thaalikettu' at the temple, attended by the close family members. We'd fetched up at a half past 8. Met Vinod's elder sister and her husband. MS Mohan Nair-Asha, Padmasenan-Sujatha, KS Venugopal, KN Mohandas, Chacko Ipe-Sara and self-Lekha had attended from among our classmates. It was a well conducted function with the right amount of pomp and show. Here's wishing Vignesh and Parvathy a very happy and long married life and everything that they wish for in their life together!
KS Venugopal(413) came home for dinner. It was nice to hear him on various things!
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