Kochi: Pointing to unabated smuggling of gold into Kerala from overseas, a Right to Information data states large quantity of the yellow metal is being sneaked in by air travellers.
Attesting to this the Customs seized nearly 1.25 ton gold from the four airports in Kerala during smuggling attempts in the last five years. Around 591kg gold was seized from Kozhikode, 500kg from Kochi and 153kg from Thiruvananthapuram airports.
Around 230kg gold was seized from areas other than the airports as per a Right to Information (RTI) document.
In all Customs and other agencies seized smuggled gold worth Rs 448 crore in this five-year period. By including the 230.43kg gold seized from areas outside airports in the state, the total figure on gold seizure crosses 1.5 ton.
The 591.7kg gold seized from Kozhikode airport was worth Rs 177.37 crore. The Kochi airport is also right behind with a seizure of 500.78kg gold, worth Rs 145.59 crore. In Thiruvananthapuram airport, 153.16kg gold was seized and that was worth Rs 47.99 crore. About 51.21kg gold was seized from Kannur airport which started operations only two years ago.
The Customs (Preventive) wing has only provided the data till June 2020. Therefore, this does not include the 30kg gold seized from the diplomatic baggage in Thiruvananthapuram in early July.
