Customs officers across the country’s international airports, spring to alert mode, upon seeing a passenger’s passport which identifies that he/she hails from Kasaragod in Kerala, and if the address indicates the locality as Thalangara, it is almost a foregone conclusion, that contraband will be hidden in the baggage!

The name ‘Kasaragod’ is a combination of the Sanskrit words ‘kaasaara’ (lake or pond) and ‘kroda’ (place where treasure is kept). Perhaps, one of the few places on this planet, that literally lives up to its name, gold flows illegally into Kasaragod, almost on a daily basis, from distant Dubai.

Once upon a time, hardcore smugglers like Kallatra Abdul Khader Haji, M B Moosa, ‘Pakistan’ Abdul Rahman, K M Hamza alias Shah Nawaz Hamza, Kadavath Abdulla, Ibrahim Soopi, Kadavath Atta, and K.S. Abdullah, braved the seas in improvised boats known as ‘Uru’ to bring solid gold and silver ingots and bricks from Dubai to Kasaragod.  With the passage of time and change of generation, the entire modus operandi has changed. All the stalwarts are gone, as also their seafaring skills but Kasaragod still keeps getting its daily quota of gold!

Today, gold flows into Kasaragod from Dubai, UAE, Sharjah, Kuwait, Oman, and Thailand. With many international airports opening up, there is no longer any need to undertake risky sea operations. Air travel ensures connectivity to Dubai and other Middle East locations in just about 03 hours. Lakhs of passengers are travelling, Customs clearance is very simplified, clandestinely bringing goods in demand, is relatively a pleasant and easy affair. People from all walks of life, including educated people, labourers, housewives, tourists, professionals, frequent flyers, elderly people, air hostesses and students, are all being enlisted for smuggling gold. 

Customs Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) has detected gold being brought in the form of paste, blocks, bars, granules, gold dust, egg-shaped capsules containing gold dust and secreted inside the rectum, gold concealed inside shoes and underwear, concealed in luggage, sanitary napkins, and concealed inside plastic objects. 

In one case, gold was hidden in a turban as a thin layer between the folds, while in another, gold paste was stuffed into the lining of a bag, even aluminium-coated gold was deftly concealed in trolley bags and even in women's undergarments. Aluminum-coated golden wires have been concealed in brassieres.  In another case, the gold was concealed inside a coffee maker from Dubai. The device was dismantled on suspicion, and gold was found in cylindrical forms. In May 2024, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), arrested an Air India air hostess from Kolkata, for attempting to smuggle nearly one kilogram of gold from Muscat to Kannur by concealing it in her rectum!

With four international airports in Kerala — Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kannur and Kozhikode — acting as gateways, the state has become a lucrative hub for gold smuggling worth several crores of rupees annually. The massive inflow of gold illegally through airports has created a wave of conspicuous consumption and apparent prosperity, in Kasaragod and other Northern districts of Kerala. 

Palatial houses, luxury cars, chains of gold shops, eateries, hotels, textile shops, shopping complexes, malls and luxury theatres are standing testimony of the illegal gold prosperity, flowing into the State.  From Talapady in Kasaragod District to Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram District, it is a trail of posh textile showrooms, gold shops, Shawarma restaurants, medical shops, perfume (Attar) shops, bakeries, and supermarkets in all shapes and sizes.  Illegal gold sale proceeds have been invested across the State in what is reckoned as ‘safe investments’ in such consumer outlets, which do not require too much dependence on manpower, in order to avoid labour problems and conflicts. 

The ever-flowing illegal gold has led to other forms of crime like the ‘pottikkal’ (literal translation means breaking, and in this case, hijacking) gangs that operate, mostly outside the airports, by robbing the gold from carriers. These gangs ambush suspected vehicles carrying passengers with the smuggled gold and seize it. The pottikkal gangs keep tabs on carriers, abduct them with their cargo, when they land, and sell the smuggled gold elsewhere. The dons in Dubai and elsewhere are furious about the pottikkal gangs, and the gang fights have left a bloody trail of deceit, abduction, torture and murder across the five northern districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad and Kasaragod. What has led to such exacerbating violence across the State?

Customs formations across the State’s airports are conveniently understaffed, it has become simply impossible to check the thousands of passengers arriving and departing from various cities. Hence, only a cursory check is possible, rest is left to the intelligence agencies to detect contraband. Therefore, it is reasonable to suspect that, a vast majority of contraband in small quantities, passes through smoothly, on an everyday basis. 

In a surprising development, the Kerala Police intervened by conducting checks on exiting international passengers randomly and detecting gold concealment cases that slipped Customs scrutiny. There has been a lot of controversy on this move, generating allegations of corruption, and even secret collusion between Customs and Police officers, to share the booty. Names of many top-ranking police officials have been dragged into this corruption scandal.

Adding fuel to the fire, in October 2024, Left MLA K T Jaleel sparked controversy by stating that most of the individuals involved in gold smuggling through the international airport in Malappuram district (Kozhikode International Airport) are from the Muslim community, drawing sharp reactions from the Muslim League (IUML) and dissident legislator P V Anvar. In a detailed Facebook post, the ruling MLA said a significant percentage of Muslims involved in crimes like gold smuggling and hawala believe that none of these activities are "irreligious." He also called for the intervention of community leaders to create awareness among members being involved in such crimes. The majority of those caught in gold smuggling cases centred around Karipur International Airport (Kozhikode in Malappuram) are from the Muslim community he said. He also wondered why some people are upset when it is said that "Khalees" (the religious authority responsible for decisions on matters of faith for Muslims in local areas) should be ready to declare that gold smuggling is anti-religious.

Lack of diligent scrutiny by Customs at the airports, citing manpower shortage, liberalised baggage rules, is opening a dangerous dimension of smuggling gangs shifting to narcotics smuggling. The State is witnessing the flow of drugs like cocaine, hybrid ganja, heroin, methaqualone, MDMA, and hashish oil. No doubt the Customs and DRI have made impressive seizures, but the lure of big money is attracting not only locals but also foreign nationals. If the drug trade assumes the same proportion as the illegal airport gold trade, by bringing in small quantities, it will have grave consequences for the health of the youth of the State.

Kerala is also figuring high on the terror activities radar. It is not known whether prohibited arms and ammunition, communication equipment like satellite phones, Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), mini drones, currency note paper, radioactive chemicals and pollutants, are all slipping through effortlessly. 

On the flip side, there is a Kasaragod Street in Dubai! Hardly any other place would have got this type of honour. There are over 32 textile shops in this ½ kilometre stretch, all owned by Kasaragod natives and employees also are from Kasaragod. The area is also known as UK or United Kasaragod, or KL 14, which is the RTO code for the Kasaragod district. 

There is a saying in Kasaragod that one cannot find a street in Dubai, without a person from the district in it! The Naif region which is around 2.5 kilometres away from the Deira side of Dubai is referred to as a Mini-Kasaragod. There have been even clashes between groups in Dubai that were connected to clashes in Kasaragod!

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) detected a network that functions using the code name ‘Kasaragod Network’ that supplies narcotic drugs from India to the Gulf countries. This gang is engaged in smuggling drugs through international airports in India. 

In September 2024, there was a huge haul of narcotics, comprising of 3 kilograms of MDMA, 1 kilogram of Ganja, and other intoxicating pills from Uppala in Kasaragod district. Not surprisingly, Kasaragod is also referred to as a Narcopolis as tonnes of drugs exchange hands in total secrecy between addicts, peddlers and carriers. In September 2024, Police formed a Special Investigation Team, to probe the narcotics seizure worth crores of rupees from Uppala, in Kasaragod.

Just like Sicily in the southern part of Italy, is famous for international drug mafias, Kasaragod in southern part of India, is renowned as an international gold smuggling hub. But, unlike Italian organized crime families like the Camorra from Campania, the 'Ndrangheta from Calabria and the Cosa Nostra from Sicily, Kasaragod has only individual dons to flaunt. 

While the Sicilian Mafia is estimated to have 3,500–4,000 core members with 100 clans, with around 50 in the city of Palermo alone, Kasaragod has no such formidable members or clans, it is all specialized coteries of a handful of people. Sicily is called the “boot” of Italy, because it is far down south, the very edge of the country, the same could be said of Kasaragod also. Sicily is a picturesque land, as is Kasaragod, blessed by 12 rivers, especially the Chandragiri river also known as Payaswini River, the longest river in Kasaragod. 

It is said that when people see Sicily, they exclaim “Ahh, Sicilia, mia amore…you have my heart”! A visit to Kasaragod is not complete without our heart singing "Uyire" song from "Bombay" movie of Maniratnam, for, Bekal fort, where this song was picturised, has the unique distinction of being a keyhole-shaped seaside fort with a pristine beach attached!

The author is former Director General of National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics