As Customs authorities had anticipated, the relocation of many international flights to Kochi airport following the partial shutdown of the Kozhikode airport has given a fillip to gold smuggling through Kochi.

On Monday, 7.2 kg of gold valued at roughly Rs 2 crore was seized from two passengers arriving from Dubai by Saudi Airlines. The two men, in their early thirties, had together concealed 62 gold bars inside an AC converter and a UPS battery in their checked-in baggage. They were stopped while trying to sneak in through the green channel, and were arrested.

The two youths were carriers for a gold smuggling racket. Both, doing sundry jobs in Dubai, had fallen for the offer of Rs 1 lakh in cash and a free air ticket for smuggling gold. Their handlers had advised them to take their flight from Saudi Arabia and take a Saudi airliner as passengers arriving in Kerala direct from Dubai were thoroughly checked for gold.

In a little over a month, 25 kg of gold has been seized at Kochi airport alone. Kozhikode airport had emerged as a major centre for gold smuggling from Dubai after the Government increased the import duty on gold, thus spawning a black market for gold and a network of smuggling rackets and carriers, who are mostly Keralite low-wage earners in the Gulf.

Following the partial shutdown of Kozhikode airport on April 30 for runway expansion, many Gulf flights have been relocated to Kochi. These include those of Saudi Airlines, Etihad, and Air India. This was feared to bolster smuggling through the Kochi airport. The Customs authorities have stepped up their watch.

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