KOLKATA, Oct 10: Customs officials at the Kolkata airport arrested two Indian travellers on Friday after they attempted to smuggle gold worth Rs 1.5 crore into the country. Javed Iqbal and Md. Savir have been identified as the flyers. According to The Times of India, they were taking an early-morning SpiceJet aircraft back from Bangkok (TOI) report says.
The two passengers were being smuggled into India with a significant amount of illegal gold, according to customs officials, who checked them after receiving a tip from a source of information.
However, after seizing the gold, Customs authorities released Iqbal while keeping Savir in custody. The principal cause of the smuggling, according to the officials, is the price gap between gold on the markets in India and Thailand. Additionally, the purity of the gold may also be a factor in the smuggling.
In the Indian and Bangkok markets, the price of gold per tola (10 grammes) differs by approximately Rs 10,000 to Rs 10,500. This indicates that for smuggling gold into the nation from Bangkok, the smugglers get more than Rs 10 lakh per kg. In addition, India has severe laws governing the purchase of gold, which also draws in criminals, according to TOI.
It’s important to note that a male Indian passenger may bringIt’s important to note that a male Indian passenger may bring duty-free jewellery valued at up to Rs 50,000, whereas the cap for female passengers is Rs 1 lakh. Additionally, the traveller must have spent more than a year living abroad.
Another such rule states that anyone with an Indian passport who has spent six consecutive months abroad is permitted to bring in up to one kilogramme of gold in the form of coins, biscuits, or other jewellery after paying a 10% customs charge. However, the person will be charged a 36 percent duty fee if the requirement for a six-month stay is not met. Smugglers try to avoid paying this high tax, according to (TOI).