Customs bust gold smuggling racket on trains
Officers say rail routes are becoming popular among smugglers as they not only provide them with a safe, surveillance free passage but also allowed them to switch the handlers, carriers and routes, to avoid being tracked
Delhi Customs have found that gold is being smuggled into Delhi on trains which helps them avoid strict surveillance at airports, officials said. The racket was exposed after the Customs busted a cartel, members of which have told officials that at least 65kg gold from Dubai and Hong Kong has been brought into the country through Myanmar and Bangladesh border.
Officers say rail routes are becoming popular among smugglers as they not only provide them with a safe, surveillance free passage but also allowed them to switch the handlers, carriers and routes, to avoid being tracked.
Deputy commissioner customs (preventive) Hemant Rohilla said this is one of the biggest gold smuggling cartels unearthed by Customs in Delhi that was operating via trains. The syndicate was busted last week on Thursday when following a tip-off about smuggling of 6kg gold, Customs sleuths arrested a 37-year-old man at New Delhi Railway Station.
“Based on intelligence inputs, we intercepted the man who had reached Delhi on Rajdhani Express. His baggage check led to the recovery of 6.3 kg gold worth Rs3.26 crore. The gold was foreign marked and the stamp mark had been scrubbed off. The gold was in form of bars. Two days of follow up searches and intelligence further led us to a 45-year-old man who was arrested from his hideout in old Delhi on Saturday night where he was waiting to receive the consignment,” Rohilla said.
The deputy commissioner said, “They revealed that there is a larger cartel behind the supplies. The carrier told us that within past two-three months he has made 15 trips from Howrah and other nearby areas in West Bengal to Delhi, carrying different quantities of smuggled gold. The duo has confessed to have smuggled at least 65 kg gold worth over Rs30 crore till date,” he said.
He further said, “The men disclosed that the gold consignments originate usually in Dubai and Hong Kong and have foreign markings on them which are scrubbed off before the gold is pushed into India at Bangladesh and Myanmar borders. They said they received the gold in Howrah and boarded trains to cities like Kanpur, Moradabad or Bareilly. They then changed train to reach Delhi. Many a times, the handlers and carriers were also switched on the way to avoid tracking by authorities,” Rohilla said, adding that the names of the two arrested men cannot be disclosed as the investigations are in progress.
Customs officials also found that the carrier even used Covid special trains to smuggle the gold as indicated by the tickets recovered from the arrested duo.
Another Customs officer, who wished not to be named, said the smugglers said they preferred trains over flights as it was considered a safer option.
“They said the railway stations do not mandate x-ray scanning of luggage as at airports almost zeroing their chance to be caught before boarding. They also said that they often changed stations and trains in between to avoid suspicion or tracking by any law enforcing agency. This also helped them frequently change their travel history and avoid any suspicion,” he said.
