Lok Sabha Question No. 276 (STARRED), answered on 2023-03-20
Subject: Smuggling of Gold and Silver
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Sougata Ray

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO-276

ANSWERED ON-MONDAY, MARCH20, 2023 /PHALGUNA 29, 1944 (SAKA)

## Smuggling of Gold and Silver

## 276.  PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of the fact that a large quantity of gold and silver are being smuggled through various sources to the country;
- (b) if so, the details of airports and other sources where such smugglings were identified;
- (c) the reasons for the reported failure of investigative agencies to check the smuggling of gold and silver in large quantities;
- (d) whether the gold and silver smugglers/carriers are reportedly getting assistance from the cabin  crew/airport  staff  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  action  taken  by  the Government in this regard; and
- (e) the  details  of  capturing  of  such  types  of  smuggling  from  airports  across  the  country during each of the last three years, airport-wise?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF FINANCE (SMT. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)

- (a) to (e) A statement is laid on the table of the House.

******

Statement  referred  to  in  reply  to  Lok  Sabha  Starred  Question  No.  276  for  answer  on 20.03.2023  raised  by  Prof.  Sougata  Ray,  Member  of  Parliament  regarding  Smuggling  of Gold and Silver

- (a) Government agencies have detected cases of attempted smuggling of gold and silver.
- (b) The details of airports and other sources where such attempted smuggling were identified are provided in Annexure-A (for gold) and Annexure-B ( for silver ) .
- (c) The  smugglers  of  gold  and  silver  adopt  various  methods  to  smuggle  gold  and  silver, including body concealment. In order to deter smuggling of gold and silver, the Customs field formations and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) keep a constant vigil and take operational measures such as passenger profiling with the aid of Advance Passenger Information System (APIS), Risk-based interdiction and targeting of cargo consignments, non-intrusive inspection, rummaging of aircraft and coordination with other agencies. On detection  of  cases  of  attempted  smuggling,  action  is  taken  in  accordance  with  law, including seizure and confiscation of smuggled gold/ silver.
- (d) Yes,  the  involvement  of  cabin  crew/  airport  staff  has  been  noticed  in  some  cases  of attempted  smuggling  of  gold.  Action  is  taken  against  such  persons  in  accordance  with law. The numbers of such cases booked and persons arrested are given in Annexure-C .
- (e) The details of seizure of gold and silver in cases of smuggling from airports across the country  during each of the last three  years,  airport-wise  are  given  in Annexure-D and Annexure-E respectively.

******

## ANNEXURE-A

## LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER

| The sources where gold smuggling was identified   | The sources where gold smuggling was identified   | The sources where gold smuggling was identified   | The sources where gold smuggling was identified                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| F.Y.                                              | No. of Cases                                      | Qty. of Gold Seized (in Kgs)                      |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| Airports                                          | Airports                                          | Airports                                          | Airports                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| 2019-20                                           | 4444                                              | 2629.55                                           | Agartala, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Dibrugarh, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Imphal, Indore, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangaluru, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Srinagar, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvanthapuram, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijaywada, Vishakhapatnam. |
| 2020-21                                           | 1830                                              | 1000.50                                           | Agartala, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Dibrugarh, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Imphal, Indore, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangaluru, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Srinagar, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvanthapuram, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijaywada, Vishakhapatnam. |
| 2021-22                                           | 1939                                              | 1239.87                                           | Agartala, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Dibrugarh, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Imphal, Indore, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangaluru, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Srinagar, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvanthapuram, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijaywada, Vishakhapatnam. |
| 2022-23 (upto Feb. 2023)                          | 3614                                              | 2531.97                                           | Agartala, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Dibrugarh, Gaya, Goa, Guwahati, Gwalior, Hyderabad, Imphal, Indore, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangaluru, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Srinagar, Surat, Tiruchirappalli, Thiruvanthapuram, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijaywada, Vishakhapatnam. |
| Seaports                                          | Seaports                                          | Seaports                                          | Seaports                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| 2019-20                                           | 3                                                 | 38.98                                             | Chennai, Cochin, Nhava Sheva.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| 2020-21                                           | 0                                                 | 0.00                                              | Chennai, Cochin, Nhava Sheva.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| 2021-22                                           | 2                                                 | 14.82                                             | Chennai, Cochin, Nhava Sheva.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| 2022-23 (upto Feb. 2023)                          | 0                                                 | 0.00                                              | Chennai, Cochin, Nhava Sheva.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| Other Places                                      | Other Places                                      | Other Places                                      | Other Places                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
| 2019-20                                           | 337                                               | 958.32                                            | Jainanagar, Darbhanga, Kanauli, Mumbai, Pune, Ludhiana, Surat, Chennai, Madurai, Delhi, Guwahati, Agartala, Shillong, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Vijaywada, etc.                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| 2020-21                                           | 204                                               | 943.89                                            | Jainanagar, Darbhanga, Kanauli, Mumbai, Pune, Ludhiana, Surat, Chennai, Madurai, Delhi, Guwahati, Agartala, Shillong, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Vijaywada, etc.                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| 2021-22                                           | 295                                               | 917.42                                            | Jainanagar, Darbhanga, Kanauli, Mumbai, Pune, Ludhiana, Surat, Chennai, Madurai, Delhi, Guwahati, Agartala, Shillong, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Vijaywada, etc.                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| 2022-23 (upto Feb. 2023)                          | 537                                               | 1459.72                                           | Jainanagar, Darbhanga, Kanauli, Mumbai, Pune, Ludhiana, Surat, Chennai, Madurai, Delhi, Guwahati, Agartala, Shillong, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Jaipur, Bengaluru, Vijaywada, etc.                                                                                                                                                                                                          |

## ANNEXURE-B

## LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER

| The sources where silver smuggling was identified   | The sources where silver smuggling was identified   | The sources where silver smuggling was identified   | The sources where silver smuggling was identified                    |
|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| F.Y.                                                | No. of Cases                                        | Qty. of Silver Seized (in Kgs)                      |                                                                      |
| Airports:                                           | Airports:                                           | Airports:                                           | Airports:                                                            |
| 2019-20                                             | 4                                                   | 548.24                                              | Cochin, Imphal, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Tiruchirappalli |
| 2020-21                                             | 2                                                   | 237.90                                              | Cochin, Imphal, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Tiruchirappalli |
| 2021-22                                             | 3                                                   | 1.14                                                | Cochin, Imphal, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Tiruchirappalli |
| 2022-23 (upto Feb. 2023)                            | 2                                                   | 66.15                                               | Cochin, Imphal, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Tiruchirappalli |
| Seaports : NIL                                      | Seaports : NIL                                      | Seaports : NIL                                      | Seaports : NIL                                                       |
| Other Places:                                       | Other Places:                                       | Other Places:                                       | Other Places:                                                        |
| 2019-20                                             | 4                                                   | 727.97                                              | Ahmedabad, Mangaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Indore, etc.       |
| 2020-21                                             | 2                                                   | 476.61                                              | Ahmedabad, Mangaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Indore, etc.       |
| 2021-22                                             | 17                                                  | 5193.30                                             | Ahmedabad, Mangaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Indore, etc.       |
| 2022-23 (upto Feb. 2023)                            | 15                                                  | 381.21                                              | Ahmedabad, Mangaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur, Indore, etc.       |

## ANNEXURE-C

## LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER

## Details of cases where cabin crew/ airport staff was found involved in smuggling of Gold

|                            | 2019-20      | 2019-20              | 2019-20                | 2020-21      | 2020-21              | 2020-21                | 2021-22      | 2021-22              | 2021-22                | 2022-23 (upto Feb. 2023)   | 2022-23 (upto Feb. 2023)   | 2022-23 (upto Feb. 2023)   |
|----------------------------|--------------|----------------------|------------------------|--------------|----------------------|------------------------|--------------|----------------------|------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
| Name of Airport            | No. of Cases | Qty. Seized (in Kgs) | No. of person arrested | No. of Cases | Qty. Seized (in Kgs) | No. of person arrested | No. of Cases | Qty. Seized (in Kgs) | No. of person arrested | No. of Cases               | Qty. Seized (in Kgs)       | No. of person arrested     |
| Ahmedabad Airport          | 1            | 24.50                | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 4                      | 1                          | 3.85                       | 0                          |
| Amritsar Airport           | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 2                          | 1.64                       | 3                          |
| Bengaluru Airport          | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 2            | 0.82                 | 1                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 1                      | 1                          | 1.73                       | 0                          |
| Calicut Airport            | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 2            | 5.09                 | 5                      | 3            | 6.26                 | 2                      | 3                          | 8.28                       | 0                          |
| Chennai Airport            | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 2            | 8.00                 | 4                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 7                          | 9.13                       | 3                          |
| Cochin Airport             | 2            | 5.28                 | 3                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 2            | 3.60                 | 1                      | 1                          | 1.22                       | 2                          |
| Hyderabad Airport          | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 2                          | 3.60                       | 4                          |
| Imphal Airport             | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 1                          | 10.79                      | 1                          |
| Jaipur Airport             | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 1            | 1.50                 | 4                      | 0                          | 0.00                       | 0                          |
| Lucknow Airport            | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 3                          | 5.32                       | 4                          |
| Madurai Airport            | 1            | 1.80                 | 1                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0                          | 0.00                       | 0                          |
| Mangaluru Airport          | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 1                          | 0.73                       | 2                          |
| Mumbai Airport             | 4            | 8.36                 | 3                      | 2            | 0.95                 | 1                      | 2            | 2.60                 | 2                      | 5                          | 31.81                      | 8                          |
| New Delhi Airport          | 5            | 3.50                 | 4                      | 5            | 3.73                 | 2                      | 3            | 2.87                 | 0                      | 1                          | 0.58                       | 0                          |
| Trichy Airport             | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 1            | 3.03                 | 1                      | 3            | 3.84                 | 5                      | 1                          | 2.01                       | 2                          |
| Thiruvananthapuram Airport | 2            | 15.19                | 11                     | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0            | 0.00                 | 0                      | 0                          | 0.00                       | 0                          |
| TOTAL                      | 15           | 58.63                | 22                     | 14           | 21.62                | 14                     | 14           | 20.67                | 19                     | 29                         | 80.69                      | 29                         |

Note: No case of Silver smuggling has been reported where the involvement of cabin crew/ airport staff was reported.

## ANNEXURE-D

## LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER

| S.No.   | Name of Airport            | Quantity of Gold seized (in Kgs.)   | Quantity of Gold seized (in Kgs.)   | Quantity of Gold seized (in Kgs.)   | Quantity of Gold seized (in Kgs.)   |
|---------|----------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| S.No.   | Name of Airport            | 2019-20                             | 2020-21                             | 2021-22                             | 2022-23 (upto Feb 2023)             |
| 1       | Agartala Airport           | 1.47                                | 1.44                                | 1.44                                | 5.06                                |
| 2       | Ahmedabad Airport          | 107.23                              | 17.06                               | 33.95                               | 107.47                              |
| 3       | Bengaluru Airport          | 63.10                               | 33.15                               | 38.97                               | 54.07                               |
| 4       | Calicut Airport            | 261.58                              | 146.86                              | 204.51                              | 291.30                              |
| 5       | Lucknow Airport            | 22.24                               | 25.57                               | 43.30                               | 24.99                               |
| 6       | Chandigarh Airport         | 11.38                               | 0.75                                | 3.50                                | 22.33                               |
| 7       | Chennai Airport            | 392.52                              | 150.92                              | 179.29                              | 306.36                              |
| 8       | Cochin Airport             | 132.18                              | 78.98                               | 105.57                              | 154.48                              |
| 9       | Coimbatore Airport         | 16.74                               | 37.74                               | 29.73                               | 57.79                               |
| 10      | Mumbai Airport             | 403.00                              | 87.00                               | 91.30                               | 604.50                              |
| 11      | Goa Airport                | 9.87                                | 7.33                                | 7.52                                | 10.43                               |
| 12      | Delhi Airport              | 494.36                              | 88.37                               | 119.72                              | 374.53                              |
| 13      | Jaipur Airport             | 15.76                               | 36.76                               | 12.64                               | 24.28                               |
| 14      | Varanasi Airport           | 21.17                               | 0.80                                | 7.28                                | 7.98                                |
| 15      | Madurai Airport            | 13.26                               | 8.48                                | 6.40                                | 14.59                               |
| 16      | Mangaluru Airport          | 22.37                               | 24.38                               | 16.77                               | 48.72                               |
| 17      | Kolkata Airport            | 65.59                               | 32.08                               | 25.44                               | 47.26                               |
| 18      | Hyderabad Airport          | 102.90                              | 33.47                               | 55.85                               | 124.28                              |
| 19      | Amritsar Airport           | 18.50                               | 26.45                               | 33.21                               | 24.36                               |
| 20      | Trichy Airport             | 129.37                              | 76.03                               | 89.71                               | 51.93                               |
| 21      | Thiruvananthapuram Airport | 111.33                              | 28.13                               | 21.77                               | 26.02                               |
| 22      | Other Airports             | 213.63                              | 58.75                               | 112.01                              | 149.25                              |

## ANNEXURE-E

| LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER   | LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER   | LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER   | LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER   | LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER   | LOK SABHA STARRED PQ No. 276 ANSWERED ON 20.03.2023 REGARDING SMUGGLING OF GOLD AND SILVER   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| S.No.                                                                                        | Name of Airrport                                                                             | Quantity of Silver seized in Kgs.                                                            | Quantity of Silver seized in Kgs.                                                            | Quantity of Silver seized in Kgs.                                                            | Quantity of Silver seized in Kgs.                                                            |
|                                                                                              |                                                                                              | 2019-20                                                                                      | 2020-21                                                                                      | 2021-22                                                                                      | 2022-23 (upto Feb 2023)                                                                      |
| 1                                                                                            | Lucknow Airport                                                                              | 0.00                                                                                         | 0.00                                                                                         | 0.94                                                                                         | 0.00                                                                                         |
| 2                                                                                            | Cochin Airport                                                                               | 0.37                                                                                         | 0.00                                                                                         | 0.20                                                                                         | 0.00                                                                                         |
| 3                                                                                            | Mumbai Airport                                                                               | 453.00                                                                                       | 0.00                                                                                         | 0.00                                                                                         | 0.00                                                                                         |
| 4                                                                                            | Delhi Airport                                                                                | 0.00                                                                                         | 235.90                                                                                       | 0.00                                                                                         | 44.35                                                                                        |
| 5                                                                                            | Kolkata Airport                                                                              | 73.87                                                                                        | 2.00                                                                                         | 0.00                                                                                         | 21.80                                                                                        |
| 6                                                                                            | Trichy Airport                                                                               | 20.00                                                                                        | 0.00                                                                                         | 0.00                                                                                         | 0.00                                                                                         |
| 7                                                                                            | Other Airports                                                                               | 1.00                                                                                         | 0                                                                                            | 0                                                                                            | 0.00                                                                                         |