Mangaluru: Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) reported zero gold smuggling cases over the last nine months, Customs officials said, attributing the lull to narrowing of price differences of the yellow metal between India and the Gulf countries.MIA was earlier a prominent transit point for gold carried illegally by passengers arriving largely from the UAE and other Gulf countries, with officials reporting seizures of around 10 kg to 15 kg annually in the past years.
Customs officials said the trend is not limited to Mangaluru. They pointed to a similar decline in gold smuggling cases at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru as well. Customs sources said the economics that once drove the trade has weakened, reducing the incentive for syndicates to route gold through the coastal airport in Karnataka. Customs officials said smugglers traditionally profited from a wide gap in pricing of retail gold in the UAE and India. With prices in India now nearly matching Gulf rates, the margin that once covered airfare, courier payments and the risk of arrest has largely disappeared. “With rates being almost similar, there is no profit for those involved in gold smuggling,” an official said, adding that the high possibility of detention in the face of heightened surveillance has further discouraged carriers or ‘mules’. On Wednesday, the UAE price for 24 karat gold was 621.25 dirhams per gram, while the Indian price was Rs 16,451 per gram. With current exchange rate at Rs 25.08 to a dirham, Customs sources said the effective difference in price is now too small to sustain smuggling activities. Price in the UAE for 24 karat gold was Dh 594.25 per gram on Feb 3, indicating that gold price in the UAE is also rising. Officials have, meanwhile, reported increased detection of cigarettes and e-cigarettes brought in illegally, with cases registered under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act.
