Odisha News, Odisha Latest news, Odisha Daily - OrissaPOST
  • Home
  • Trending
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • More..
    • Odisha Special
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Careers
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Horoscope
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
  • Home
  • Trending
  • State
  • Metro
  • National
  • International
  • Business
  • Feature
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • More..
    • Odisha Special
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Careers
    • Sci-Tech
    • Timeout
    • Horoscope
    • Today’s Pic
  • Video
  • Epaper
  • News in Odia
No Result
View All Result
OrissaPOST - Odisha Latest news, English Daily -
No Result
View All Result

Loopholes in law, cheap fares make BPIA a fave for gold smugglers

Post News Network
Updated: June 24th, 2018, 21:03 IST
in Home News, Metro
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on Linkedin
  • Police and Customs officials cannot arrest a person for smuggling gold from abroad if the market value of the seized yellow metal is estimated to be less than Rs 20 lakh

  • Gold is much cheaper in countries like Malaysia and Thailand
    than in India and a visitor can purchase any amount of gold from these countries

  • Some people deliberately avoid paying Customs duty while bringing gold from abroad as payment of the duty will offset the cost advantage

 

Bhubaneswar: The incidents of gold smuggling through Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here in recent times have created a lot of buzz among the people. They are eager to know the causes behind frequent seizure of gold from the City airport after it got the ‘international’ tag.

Also Read

Naveen Patnaik

Naveen Patnaik returns to Odisha after successful spine surgery

4 hours ago
Assam Rifles

Assam Rifles seizes Meth tablets worth Rs 112.40 crore in Mizoram

4 hours ago

As many as 20 gold smuggling cases through the airport have been reported in the last three months. Customs Department officials have seized at least 19 kg of gold from the smugglers and its market value has been estimated to be around Rs 6 crore, said Customs sources.

Gold carriers have adopted various means to smuggle the yellow metal from countries like Malaysia and Thailand. The methods they have used to conceal gold and hoodwink the Customs are bizarre. For example, some smugglers have thought grinders and rectums are safe places to bring in gold illegally. Some others have used chemical coatings to evade detection or simply carried it in the form of body ornaments.

A few insiders blame loopholes in the Customs law for rampant gold smuggling into the country. It is learnt that police and Customs officials cannot arrest a person for smuggling gold from abroad if the market value of the seized yellow metal is estimated to be less than Rs 20 lakh. However, the officials can initiate legal action against the persons if they are found to be involved in smuggling of gold frequently.

“Most of people caught for illegal transportation of gold at BPIA are first timers. So, we could not initiate legal action against them,” said a Customs official.

As per the rules, any Indian citizen can bring gold from any foreign country after residing there for at least six months. An Indian man can bring up to 20 grams of gold from any foreign country after residing there for a year. Similarly, a woman can bring 40 grams of gold after spending a year abroad. But, anyone who carries gold beyond the prescribed limit has to pay Customs duty.

“Some people deliberately avoid paying Customs duty while bringing gold from abroad. Payment of Customs duty will offset the cost advantage,” said a senior Customs official.

It is learnt that gold is much cheaper in countries like Malaysia and Thailand than in India. Moreover, a visitor can purchase any amount of gold from those countries. So many visitors to the two East Asian countries often prefer to bring gold without informing the Customs officials.

Many experts cite cheap fares offered by a few airlines operating between Bhubaneswar and a few East Asian countries for rise in gold smuggling activities through BPIA. “Airlines like AirAsia are offering low airfare for travellers between Bhubaneswar and countries like Malaysia and Thailand. So, people from other states prefer Bhubaneswar as a transit point. That is why smuggling activities through BPIA have gone up recently,” said Customs Department Assistant Commissioner Sashibhusan.

BPIA Director Suresh Chandra Hota said Customs officials have beefed up surveillance at the airport to track smugglers. “Smugglers often prefer new international airports. But, we have a robust security and surveillance system at BPIA. We have adopted Advanced Technology Information System (ATIS) to keep a tab on travellers,” Hota added.

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Deputy Commandant VV Goutam said they thoroughly check people who are travelling from Bhubaneswar to any destination to discourage possession of firearms. “Officials of the Customs and Intelligence department usually frisk people arriving at BPIA from other places,” he said.

Customs sources, meanwhile, claimed that most of the people caught at BPIA with smuggled gold do not have criminal antecedents. “These people might have tried to smuggle gold for getting some extra money,” said Sashibhusan.

However, a person caught with smuggled gold claimed the existence of a few international rackets behind the illegal transport of gold. According to him, members of the rackets usually pursue homebound Indians in Malaysia and Thailand to carry gold illegally. “The smuggled gold is transported to Kolkata from BPIA by road,” he claimed.

Gold worth Rs 31.54L seized at BPIA

Bhubaneswar: In yet another attempt of smuggling gold of foreign origin through Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), the officers of Air Intelligence wing of the Customs have seized gold items valued at Rs 31.54 lakh from two passengers.

Assistant Commissioner of Customs at BPIA Sashi Bhusan said in two separate cases acting on the basis of intelligence and high alertness, the officials Sunday intercepted two passengers and recovered the gold items in the form of chains and “kadas” weighing nearly 1 kg.

He said the two passengers hailing from Delhi and Jagatsinghpur in Odisha arrived from Bangkok and Dubai respectively by Air India flight AI339 and AI007 Sunday.

On search of their body and personal baggage the customs officials found concealed gold items of foreign origin with 99.9 per cent purity.

This would be 4th and 5th seizure by the customs officials at the BPIA during the last 10 days from the passengers arriving here from Bangkok and Dubai, officials said.

Tags: BPIAGold smugglers
Share15TweetSendShare
Suggest A Correction

Enter your email to get our daily news in your inbox.

 

OrissaPOST epaper Sunday POST OrissaPOST epaper

Click Here: Plastic Free Odisha

slide 2 to 4 of 30
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pratyasharani Ghibela

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Praptimayee Biswal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Debasis Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Swarit Praharaj

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Surya Sidhant Rath

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pitabas Tripathy

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Parbati Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pratik Kumar Ghibela

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Diptiranjan Biswal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Archana Parida

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Aishwarya Ranjan Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Tapaswini Mallick

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Saishree Satyarupa

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Anshuman Sahoo

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Mrutyunjaya Behera

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Matrumangal Jena

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Adyasha Priyadarsani Sendha

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Keshab Chandra Rout

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Sarfraz Ahmad

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Chinmay Kumar Routray

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Mandakini Dakua

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Rajashree Manasa Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Shreyanshu Bal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Aman Kumar Barisal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Akshaya Kumar Dash

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Manas Samanta

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Bijswajit Pradhan

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Akriti Negi

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Ipsita

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pratik Kumar

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Pratyasharani Ghibela

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Praptimayee Biswal

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Debasis Mohanty

December 12, 2019
#MyPaperBagChallenge

Swarit Praharaj

December 12, 2019

Archives

Select Month

    Editorial

    Tripura’s IAS Exodus

    July 12, 2025

    It’s hard not to see the flight of over a dozen IAS officers from Tripura’s cadre as a crypto-threshold moment....

    Read more

    Toll Sucks Life

    Nitin Gadkari
    July 9, 2025

    Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari took everyone by surprise when at a function in Nagpur, where the...

    Read more

    Bloodline

    BJP-Shiv Sena
    July 8, 2025

    The coming together of the Thackeray cousins – Raj Thackeray, chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Shiv Sena...

    Read more

    Acknowledge Failure

    Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh
    July 7, 2025

    Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh’s candid revelations about Operation Sindoor at a FICCI event ‘New...

    Read more
    • Home
    • State
    • Metro
    • National
    • International
    • Business
    • Editorial
    • Opinion
    • Sports
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs
    Developed By Ratna Technology

    © 2024 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST

    • News in Odia
    • Orissa POST Epaper
    • Video
    • Home
    • Trending
    • Metro
    • State
    • Odisha Special
    • National
    • International
    • Sports
    • Business
    • Editorial
    • Entertainment
    • Horoscope
    • Careers
    • Feature
    • Today’s Pic
    • Opinion
    • Sci-Tech
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Jobs

    © 2024 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST

      • News in Odia
      • Orissa POST Epaper
      • Video
      • Home
      • Trending
      • Metro
      • State
      • Odisha Special
      • National
      • International
      • Sports
      • Business
      • Editorial
      • Entertainment
      • Horoscope
      • Careers
      • Feature
      • Today’s Pic
      • Opinion
      • Sci-Tech
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Jobs

      © 2024 All rights Reserved by OrissaPOST