Experts Call for Joint Efforts to End Gold Smuggling

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): According to industry experts, the efforts by police alone are not sufficient to fight gold smuggling activities by syndicates. The remarks came after the recent incident in which a passenger, doubted as a carrier of the yellow metal, was kidnapped and murdered by a gold smuggling racquet in the southern state of Kerala, India.

The police noted that the passenger had failed to hand over the consignment of smuggled gold to the gang, which later resulted in his abduction. He was tortured for nearly four days and was finally murdered by the gang.

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The experts noted that the rampant gold smuggling acts in the airports could be ended only through joint efforts of various agencies, including police, customs, directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) and income tax (IT) department officials. They also requested the Chief Minister to intervene in the issue.

The police department noted that there are limitations for it to investigate gold smuggling cases. The culprits, along with the report of seizure are normally handed over to the Customs department. He urged strong action by agencies like Customs and DRI, so as to end rising incidents of gold smuggling.

Meantime, the Customs Department officials admitted that airports lack enough facilities to nab the smugglers. The door frame metal detector at airports could not detect gold, if it is in compound form and concealed inside the body.