Customs Officials on Saturday night apprehended a woman with gold jewellery worth Rs 50 lakh at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
The woman, who was traveling with Etihad Airways, caught the attention of customs officers due to suspicious behaviour. Following a detailed inspection of her baggage, authorities discovered gold jewellery, including both 18-carat and 9-carat pieces, amounting to Rs 50 lakh in total.
Initially, the woman attempted to mislead the investigation by claiming that the jewellery was an imitation, but upon further questioning, customs officials determined that she was part of a larger smuggling network, responsible for transporting gold to evade taxes. The woman was identified as one of the “carriers” involved in the illegal trade of gold, a method commonly used by smuggling syndicates to bypass customs duties and taxes.
This incident adds to a series of gold smuggling cases recently uncovered at Ahmedabad Airport. Just the week before, two passengers arriving from Dubai were arrested with 1,400 cigarettes and gold jewellery valued at Rs 30 lakh, also intended for tax evasion.
The Customs Department follows a set procedure for dealing with individuals involved in smuggling. If someone is caught with goods exceeding Rs 1 crore in value, they are arrested and taken into custody for questioning. However, if the value of the smuggled goods is less than Rs 1 crore, the person is interrogated, their statement is recorded, and they are usually released after their passport is confiscated. In such cases, the identity of the individual is not publicly disclosed, and the seized goods remain in the custody of the Customs Department. Legal action is then initiated, and the accused may be required to pay customs duties and penalties, which can be as high as 400% of the goods’ value.
This detailed procedure is part of the government’s efforts to crack down on tax evasion and illegal gold smuggling, a problem that continues to plague the country’s airports. The customs authorities remain vigilant in their ongoing fight against such smuggling networks, which rely on couriers to carry goods and evade detection.
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