Kochi: Customs officials have seized 8 kg of smuggled gold worth more than Rs 11 crore from airports across Kerala over the past week, registering 14 cases and arresting nine people, officials said on Sunday.

According to Customs Commissioner T Tiju, those arrested include six Keralites and three people from Tamil Nadu. The operations were carried out in coordination with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Kerala Police.

Officials said the recent seizures indicate that organised international gold smuggling networks are increasingly using sophisticated methods to evade detection.

"Smugglers are increasingly attempting to evade detection by converting gold into paste or compound forms and concealing it inside specially tailored clothing, body cavities, aircraft seats and other unconventional locations," Tiju said.

He said Customs authorities across Kerala have strengthened passenger profiling, intelligence gathering and coordination with other enforcement agencies to tackle the evolving smuggling methods.

Tiju added that Customs remains committed to preventing precious metal smuggling and protecting the country's economic interests. Investigations are underway to identify the syndicates and financiers behind the organised smuggling network.
In one of the recent cases, Customs arrested a 36-year-old passenger, Jamshid Edekkandi Poyil, from Kozhikode after seizing over 1.24 kg of 24-carat gold worth around Rs 1.97 crore at Kochi airport. The gold, brought from Abu Dhabi, was concealed in paste form inside a specially stitched brief, while two gold chains were also recovered from his possession.
With PTI inputs