How smuggled UAE gold comes to Indian destinations

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Smuggled gold from the UAE (United Arab Emirates) gets to Indian destinations via several routes. The gold smugglers have several options at their disposal.

The smugglers take advantage of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, and West Bengal sharing their long borders with Bangladesh; and Nagaland, Manipur, and Mizoram sharing borders with Myanmar. The smugglers have their networks spread on either side of these international borders to work as couriers.

The porous Bangladesh border with Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram, Tripura, and West Bengal enables the smugglers to send smuggled gold to Assam and West Bengal without much difficulty and without having to cross the border. Even the youths working as curriers from the other side can pass gold in packets to their Indian counterparts in Assam and Tripura just by throwing the consignment over the barbed wire fencing. According to Customs sources, they can also hand over the consignments hand-to-hand when the border guards are away.

The riverine stretches along the Assam-Bangladesh and Bangladesh-Tripura borders continue to be the real challenge for security personnel, giving an edge to smugglers. According to Customs sources, smuggled gold also directly enters West Bengal from Bangladesh through Siliguri.

UAE gold also makes its way to Myanmar via Bangladesh and ultimately reaches Guwahati and Kolkata. According to Customs sources, smugglers prefer to smuggle gold in the form of heavy ornaments rather than gold biscuits so as to give security personnel the slip.

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