Page 53 - SMUGGLING IN INDIA REPORT FOR 2020-2021

Figure 7 - Individuals with gold bars around their waist
DRI made spectacular seizures of Myanmarese origin gold throughout FY 2020-21. A total of 239.5 kgs of gold of Myanmarese origin was seized by the DRI in the North-East region. The seizures were made at multiple locations like Guwahati, Dimapur, Kamrup, Jalukbari and Tengnoupal. The biggest seizure was made on 22.12.2020 when officers of DRI intercepted a Toyota Innova vehicle near the Khanapara flyover in Kamrup, Assam. On checking the vehicle, 25 bundles containing 20 gold biscuits each were recovered from the floor and the gearbox cavity of the vehicle. The said gold collectively weighing 82.98 kg valued at Rs. 42.71 crore was seized and three persons were arrested.
One of the common themes that emerged in majority of the gold seizures in FY 2020-21 was the ingenious concealment done by smuggling syndicates in vehicles
including cars, motorcycles and trucks. Such ingenuity was probably necessitated due to the restrictions on rail travel due to the Covid-induced lockdowns. Due to the disruptions in rail travel, the smuggled gold had to be moved to consumption centres via road. This is further indicated by the seizure of smuggled gold from vehicles travelling from North-East India and Bangladesh to consumption centres like New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
CHAPTER 1: GOLD SMUGGLING IN INDIA: EMERGING TRENDS 7