How can we stop Kasaragod’s young girls from being coerced into gold smuggling: A plea for change
On December 27, 2022, Keralites read with disbelief the news that Kerala Police had arrested a 19-year-old girl smuggling 1.8 kgs of gold worth Rs 1 crore at the Kozhikode international airport. Mariam Shahla Shehnaz a native of Kasaragod, was caught on her arrival from Dubai on an Air India Express flight. Young and beautiful, a college student, she successfully evaded the Customs checks and came out only to be accosted by a team of Police officials, who had reliable information about her carrying contraband gold. A check of her baggage did not yield anything. Repeated questioning by the Police only elicited confident denials that she did not possess any contraband gold. It was then that the Police decided to conduct a physical search, and the cat was out of the bag. She had concealed the gold, which was in a paste form, in her private parts, said officials. Shahla told her parents and neighbours that she had to attend a ‘six-day interview’ in Dubai and left Kerala. The gold smuggling mafia offered the young girl Rs 1 lakh if successful and paid for her flight tickets. Shahla was made to carry 1886 grams of gold in a paste form stitched inside her underwear in three packets. The contraband was 24-carat gold and was semi-liquid. Police said the undergarment was designed by the gold smuggling mafia and given to the young lady. Gold smugglers had convinced Shahla not to be afraid since Customs rarely frisk women clad in hijab. They were right. Shahla confused the Customs officials, as she was specially instructed, not to seem nervous no matter how hard the officers questioned her. The authorities were also baffled as Shahla refused to admit the crime. They said that the lady never changed the expression on her face despite being interrogated. But, the Police saw through her game quickly and she earned notoriety as Roop ki Rani, kaam hai behmani?
Soon after, another gold smuggling team, which included a woman, was caught after being chased in Kozhikode. Deena, 30, smuggled 146 grams of gold from Dubai. She also managed to dupe the Customs, and drove away with her two friends, who came to receive her. But the Police caught her after a chase, arrested her and seized gold worth nearly ₹8,00,000.
In June 2020 Mangalore Customs officials arrested two persons for smuggling gold from Dubai. The accused were arrested at Mangalore International Airport and identified as Zeenath Banu (45) and Muhammad Iqbal (47). Both are Kasaragod residents and arrived on an Air India Express flight from Dubai smuggling gold weighing around 2.648 kgs. Banu carried the smuggled gold in her sanitary pads, while Iqbal concealed the gold inside his rectum as four balls wrapped in tape and a condom. The contraband was worth around Rs 1.40 crore.
In March 2021 officials of Mangalore Customs arrested a woman passenger, and her husband, Fousiya Missiriya Moideen Kunhi (33) and Moideen Kunhi Cheroor (44) hailing from Cheroor of Kasaragod in Kerala on the charge of smuggling gold in powder form mixed with solid gum and by concealing it in her inner garments. Gold weighing 851 grams valued at ₹39.48 lakh was seized from them.
Again in March 2021, Customs officials arrested a woman for smuggling gold worth Rs 1 crore in her underwear and socks at Mangalore airport. The accused has been identified as Sameera who hails from Kasaragod. She arrived at Mangalore on an Air India flight from Dubai. It was upon inspection, that the lady was found to be carrying gold. A total of 2.41 kg of gold worth Rs 1 crore 10 lakh and a pack of foreign cigarettes were seized from her.
Who are the people compelling Kasaragod’s young girls and women to conceal gold inside their private parts? Surprisingly it is their father, husband or brother, who out of greed for accumulating wealth, are coercing their own kin to undergo these demeaning acts.
Mariam Shahla Shehnaz’s father is reportedly a businessman based in Dubai. At least he must be reasonably rich, but is it ethical on his part to coerce his own daughter into concealing gold in her private parts? The young girl's photograph and of her innerwear are splashed all over social media and in many evening newspapers. It is going to be a lifetime burden and stigma for the girl. The entire procedure of inserting the gold in private parts is absolutely revolting. Girls have to completely shave their private parts, so that the gold does not get entangled with the pubic hair, or if the gold is in paste form it does not stick to the hair.
Gold is usually powdered, mixed with maida, made into capsules and either inserted into the vaginal or anal canal. Most of the time, the gold is carried and attached to the body, which is safer. Sometimes the gold powder in paste form is mixed with Maida, or even iron powder and potassium, and applied to the vagina. A solvent is added to the mixture to give it a semi-solid jelly-like form. Thereafter it is packed in plastic pouches and strapped or inserted into sensitive parts of the body, to avoid detection.
When it is concealed inside the panties, the assistance of a professional tailor is needed. Normal panties will not be able to carry the weight of the gold, as also remain body-fit. For this purpose, special measurements are taken, location of pouches identified for inserting gold, and trials conducted, before absolute strangers, who are in charge of executing these operations.
During the journey itself, the girl has to sit continuously for over three hours, and it is impossible to even answer nature’s call. Hence, they are forbidden to even eat or drink several hours before the flight, so that there is no bowel movement or bladder fullness. Food or drinks are not permitted during the flight. While passing through Customs baggage clearance, perfect composure is advised, as well as normal walking, so that sleuths in plain clothes do not get suspicious. If in the event, they are detained for checking, the procedure is totally embarrassing.
Physical check by Lady Customs officers means a strip search, checking of the vagina and rectum. Suspicion of any kind means taking the girl to a hospital, taking an x-ray of the private parts, and if there is any concealment, it will involve extraction or ejection of the contraband under medical supervision. Imagine the plight of the girl, who has to undergo scrutiny of her private parts by Customs officers, doctors, nurses, and x-ray technicians. Nowadays, because of legal complications, hospital officials may video graph the entire proceedings.
Women face trauma
Imagine the mental and physical trauma of the girl undergoing this shameful embarrassment. If in the event of her passing through Customs, smoothly, the chances of her getting caught by the Police officials while waiting outside the airport terminal, would involve similar physical examination and medical procedures, as narrated in the previous paragraph.
Even assuming that the girl is not detected, by Customs or Police, and she reaches her house, further immediate procedures start happening to extract the contraband. There may not be any medical supervision, for reasons of secrecy, but the assistance of a midwife, may be taken. The contraband if hidden in the vaginal canal may need manual assistance to bring it out without injury. If inside the anal canal, strong laxatives may be needed, as also repeated visits to the toilet. Assistance from close relatives and health workers would be needed. These procedures, if photographed secretly can be used for blackmail and sexual exploitation of young girls.
Who are these ‘Grooming Gangs’ of Kasaragod? Till now they have been running this exploitation racket unhindered by any law enforcement agency. Is it not time to bring them to book?
Readers may recall that an air hostess was arrested, by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Kannur Airport in Kerala, in May 2024, for allegedly smuggling gold and hiding it in her rectum. The air hostess, identified as Surabhi Khatun, was found concealing around 960 grams of gold in her rectum. Maybe, she was working for some Kasaragod gang, as the airport is near Kasaragod. She was employed with Air India Express and was the cabin crew member of the plane that landed in Kannur from Muscat on May 28.
Imagine the plight of all these girls who have to undergo traumatic physical and mental experience, and extreme stress, displaying their private parts for intense scrutiny, by strangers. It is a harrowing experience, that may leave life-long scars on the psyche of these young girls. Physically, mentally and emotionally, the girls will become absolutely devastated. To add salt to the injury, the long-drawn Court proceedings may take decades, and the intimate body photographs and videos will be seen by the Court staff and the concerned Advocates.
Similar is the case in adjudication proceedings before the IRS officers, going in appeal to the Tribunal and again knocking before the Courts, seeking sympathy and condonation on various grounds. In many cases, these legal proceedings can drag on for a lifetime. The photographs and videos will be available for decades for viewing by total strangers.
Kasaragod itself has gained global notoriety for this kind of trafficking of girls for use by gold smuggling gangs. Except for Nigeria and other African countries, where women are used for carrying contraband, Kasaragod will be the only other major location where women are systematically abused, by their own kith and kin.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), and more notably Dubai, is the main source of illegal gold in Kerala. African gold is purchased by traders of Indian origin, who then ship it to Dubai, where it is refined and then sold to expatriates, who entrust it to carriers, to carry it clandestinely to Kerala. Unfortunately, in this entire exercise, Kasaragod district and the people residing there, face opprobrium and disrepute.
Legal ordeal
The Customs and the Police have different rules to implement in gold seizure cases.
Under the Customs Act, the gold is liable to absolute confiscation under section 111 (d), (l) and (m) of the Customs Act, 1962. For smuggling of prohibited goods, the person is liable to be arrested. Further, the person is liable to a penalty, which will be around 25% of the value of gold under section 112 of the Customs Act, 1962. If the duty evaded on gold exceeds Rs. 50 lakhs, the offence becomes non-bailable.
The Police are not governed by the Customs Rules and Circulars. Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita has provided more teeth to the police to arrest gold smugglers under stringent sections by bringing it under the category of organised crimes. The first FIR and arrest in a gold smuggling case under BNS was made by Karipur police in Kerala on July 2 2024. The accused, Mohammed Rasheed P, 62, was booked under Section 111(1) (organized crime involving trafficking of illegal goods) and 111(7) (punishment for person in possession of any property on behalf of a member of an organised crime syndicate which he cannot satisfactorily account for). Police have made use of 'trafficking of illegal goods' in the section to clamp down on gold smugglers. Conviction under the Act carries a punishment of not less than five years, which may extend to imprisonment for life, and would also be liable to slap a fine not less than Rs 5 lakh.
These differing modes of action under the Customs Act and BNS are likely to create fresh legal complications. Be that as it may, another issue is why only these young girls are being punished? What about her parents, husband, the tailor at Dubai, the organizers, the accomplices who arrange for the extraction of the gold, the purifiers and melters? All these people can be booked under Protection of Human Rights Act 1993, Chapter XV of the BNS, Sections 270 to 285, which deals with offenses that affect public health, safety, convenience, decency, and morals. Action can also be taken under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.
A plea for change
Another question that arises is why is the National Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Women, Kerala State Human Rights Commission, Kerala Women’s Commission, Kerala State Minorities Rights Commission, not taking any cognizance of the egregious abuse of these Kasaragod girls? What about the role of the Member of Parliament, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Panchayat President of the locality, and NGO’s, who are not enquiring into this blatant abuse of these hapless girls?
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) needs to be filed before the Supreme Court, bringing to notice that the gold smuggling racket, especially in Kasaragod, involving physical and mental abuse of girls, forced genital and anal manipulation for insertion of gold metal mixed with other metallic compounds, by confining the girls to secret locations where their rights are controlled, and subjected to appalling violation, of their right to physical integrity, which accordingly constitutes torture. An appropriate direction to the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Home Affairs will assist in developing recommendations on how to deter and prevent the exploitation of girls as gold carriers by criminal syndicates, which will be impactful to the criminal justice system, governments and the general public.
The author is former Director General of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics