As much as 43kg gold worth ₹13 crore has been seized at the Chandigarh airport since international operations began here in September 2016.
While 22kg of the yellow metal was recovered from passengers by the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) — country’s premier anti-smuggling agency, the remaining 21kg was found by the customs, which forms the first line of defence against smuggling at the airport.
The total number of cases reported in these two years is 40 so far, according to the two agencies.
All cases are being adjudicated at the level of zonal commissioner but those caught are not coming forward to claim the gold despite show-cause notice in most cases, said a customs official involved in gold seizures.
The official, who did not wish to be named, said most of those arrested carrying gold are conduits. “Only if they claim gold, the authorities can establish the link between them and smugglers,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The official, who did not wish to be named, said most of those arrested carrying gold are conduits. “Only if they claim gold, the authorities can establish the link between them and smugglers,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}According to the rules, those caught with gold (over the permissible limit) are handed it back after paying a heavy penalty besides 36% customs duty. Whatever profit they plan to make through smuggling thus gets negated.
Meanwhile, if the commissioner refuses to release gold, the person can file an appeal before the customs tribunal and then the high court.
Only 2 of 40 cases reached court
According to the customs law, a smuggler is prosecuted only if the gold seizure is above ₹1 crore. Otherwise, it is a bailable offence.
Only two cases of gold recoveries have reached the Mohali district courts so far. One was the seizure of 8kg gold on January 30 this year, in which two people were produced before the chief judicial magistrate, and the other was the recent recovery of 7kg gold from a Bathinda man on July 3.
In both cases, the DRI had made the seizures. While all accused later got bail, the chargesheet in the January 30 case is pending while the July 3 case is under investigation.
An investigating official said prosecution norms in the customs law should be made more stringent to instil fear among smugglers.
“At present, in 90% cases, the seizure is below ₹1 crore. The accused easily get bail. They also somehow manage to get the gold released at a later stage through courts,” he said.