Youth fall prey as gold racket uses new strategy

Palliyil Basheer, a graduate Malayali youth settled in Madikeri, went to Dubai a year back in search of a job. Amidst a growing desperation to fetch a job, he befriended with a man who introduced himself as ‘Shameer,’ at an eatery in Dubai.

When Basheer decided to come back to India on last Thursday to renew Visa, Shameer handed over an uncovered cloth drying rack stand requesting him that Shameer's friend in Mangalore will collect it once he reaches there. On the next morning at Mangalore airport, Basheer felt nothing uneasy while putting the rack stand for customs baggage scanning. Minutes later he was arrested by customs officials, for smuggling 2.5 kg gold worth Rs 80.50 lakh meticulously inserted in the rods of the stand in his possession.

Incidentally, this was the sad plight of three youth who were caught in Mangalore airport on three consecutive days in separate incidents since October 24, all of them held on charges of carrying utensils inserted with gold.

Abbasali Saban (23), was arrested on October 24 with 1 kg of gold and Mohammed Ashraf (31) on October 26 with 500 gram of gold. Saban carried clamp holders used for fixing wall mounted glass stands with the yellow metal meticulously inserted inside.

Ashraf was caught with frying pans and blankets. 24 carrot gold was craft-fully melted to insert into the handle of pan and inside the weeding of the blanket cover.Ashraf's confession was that one of his friend’s younger brother's friend had requested to carry the 'house hold items' which he could not refuse. The moment he came to know that he was carrying smuggled gold, he collapsed at the airport, said a customs officer. 

Customs wondered

Altogether the seized gold at Airport in the last three days weigh about 5.5 kg which has a market value about Rs 1.72 crores. A top custom official on condition of anonymity told Deccan Herald that the brilliance of new modus operandi for smuggling has surprised them all. This is the first time, household utensils are used for gold smuggling. In the cloth drier stand that Basheer bought, five rods of the stand were made of gold.

The legs of the stand had gold inserted in it with silver painting. “The painting itself was in that perfect style that nothing amounts to suspicion. How can you doubt a rack will contain 2.5 kg of gold that was carried in such a casual manner without any covering?” asks he.

On the other hand, the scanning of a luggage or bag will take only 5 seconds and in-between the shortest span of time, the customs officials have to detect smuggled articles. The density of rods showed variance in the scanner and the stand was re-scanned and thus the presence of gold was confirmed.

The Customs officials strongly suspect that a furnace would have been functioning in Dubai under a big smuggling network which can make gold into any form according to the items inside which it can be concealed. Officials say that gone are the days gold were smuggled in the forms of biscuits, bars or coins.

Who is Shameer, Basheer?

While questioning the 'carriers,' customs officials have been at times stumbled upon two names, Shameer and Basheer.

“The arrested persons’ version is that one Shameer or Basheer handed over the goods to them. These two names had cropped up in past also. It is premature to say those names are real or not,” said customs officer.

When interrogating officers dial the mobile number of Shameer of Basheer abroad, it will be switched off. The carriers have no other inputs too, as they were told that the persons waiting for goods will contact them.

Truth behind real carriers

The customs official was of the opinion that there are some explicit reasons in cases wherein carriers are committing the crime having sufficient knowledge about it.

“Young people mainly in and around Kasargod, Mangalore are being caught for smuggling gold at Mangalore airport. This has been the trend since long. Majority of these youth are not educated and their only hope to make big in life is reaching Gulf which they accomplish through anyway. Without having any job skills, they will end up themselves as salesman at mobile shops or in any such odd jobs. Once they realise that the going is tough, they will try every possibility for a switch over. This is the moment where smuggling racket enters and lures them,” explains a senior customs official. He suggested that these sad plight needs to be tackled through social awareness or community related programmes.