Kerala Police seize 150 kg of gold, Rs 123 crore in five-year crackdown on smuggling

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], September 20 (ANI): As part of its ongoing crackdown on gold and hawala smuggling, the Kerala Police have seized nearly 150 kg of gold, valued at Rs 81 crore, and registered 337 hawala cases, confiscating around Rs 123 crore over the past five years.

According to reports, CM Pinarayi Vijayan has instructed the state police to take strict action against the network of gold smugglers, and the recoveries and detections are a result of this crackdown.

While there have been large-scale seizures, the recent controversies, in contrast, have alleged CM Vijayan and his office of being complicit in smuggling-related offenses. The CPI(M) government of Kerala has refuted the opposition’s claims and has repeatedly provided data to back their actions.

However, according to Kerala Police data, in the last five years, 188 gold smuggling cases have been registered, leading to the seizure of 147.79 kg of gold. Since 2020, 337 hawala-related cases have been reported, resulting in the confiscation of Rs 122.55 crore.

Last year, authorities at Kozhikode airport seized a total of 298 kilograms of gold, valued at nearly Rs 200 crore. Of this, customs officials confiscated 270 kilograms, while the police seized an additional 28 kilograms.

The largest gold smuggling seizure occurred in 2022, with 80 kg of gold seized across 98 cases. In 2023, this decreased to 61 cases involving 49 kg of gold. So far, in the current year, 18 kg of gold has been seized.

Hawala fund detection peaked in 2023, with 94 cases involving Rs 39 crore uncovered. In the previous year, 67 cases worth Rs 35.5 crore were detected. As of this year, 67 cases amounting to Rs 150 crore have already been detected.