AHMEDABAD: Internationals airports across the country, including Ahmedabad, have been put on alert to check gold smuggling which is expected to rise during the forthcoming festivals like Diwali, and marriage season.
According to sources, Customs officials have been asked to minutely scan suspects and commercial consignments to check smuggling.
“The officials fear that the upcoming festive season and marriages solemnized between November and February will push the demand for gold, giving rise to smug gling,” said a source.
“Customs officials are scanning all suspects, particularly passengers on flights coming from Middle East and South Asian countries, to check smuggling. Ahmedabad airport is used as an alternative by carriers and smugglers so as to escape intense scrutiny . But here too, the vig il has been intensified,” add ed the source.
Gold sales usually go high at the time of Diwali, espe cially on ‘Dhanteras’ as peo ple consider buying the yel low metal as good omen on this day.
Sources further said that around 30% of the smuggling cases have been detected during October-February in last three years at the city airport.
There are 19 international airports in the country which include Amritsar, Jaipur, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Goa and Port Blair.
Earlier this month, a man was held with 3kg gold worth Rs 81lakh hidden inside Wi-Fi router at the city airport.
Customs officials have seized yellow metal worth over Rs 76 crore and arrested about 100 people so far this fiscal across airports in the country.
