Bengaluru airport gold seizures triple to Rs 51.5 crore as duty hike bites

Gold smuggling detections at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport have almost tripled in the first seven months of 2026-27. Customs recorded 123 cases between April and October, seizing about 34 kg of gold worth Rs 51.52 crore and arresting 27 people, according to department data.

For context, all of 2025-26 saw 44 cases, with roughly 19 kg of gold worth Rs 18.98 crore recovered and six arrests. This year's seven-month tally has already passed that full-year mark by a wide margin.

The monthly pattern tells the story. April logged a single case involving 91 grams, followed by nine in May, eight in June and six in July. Then the numbers jumped: 28 cases in August, 26 in September and 45 in October. October was the peak, with 12 kg worth Rs 18.38 crore seized and 10 arrests; September brought 8 kg worth Rs 12.57 crore and seven arrests.

Why now? A customs official told Deccan Herald the timeline tracks the duty change, noting the Centre raised customs duty on gold to 15% in May 2026 from 6%. A wider gap between domestic and international prices makes the grey route more tempting. The World Gold Council estimates unofficial inflows rose to around 50 tonnes in the September quarter, against three tonnes a year earlier, while official bullion imports fell significantly.

Smugglers are getting inventive. Since May, customs has intercepted three cases of passengers allegedly using wheelchairs to evade checks, including an August 23 arrest of a Sri Lankan national accused of using his child with a disability as cover. Concealment in clothing or the mouth remains common, but October brought oddities: more than 10 passengers in a single day were caught trying to retrieve gold taped beneath unattended luggage trolleys, apparently meant to be carried out by unwitting travellers. One passenger had gold hidden inside a watch.

Most of the metal enters via the UAE, with a few cases traced to Sri Lanka. Legally, the stakes are high: under the Customs Act, 1962, duty evasion above Rs 50 lakh or undeclared goods above Rs 1 crore are non-bailable offences, while others are generally bailable.

For markets watchers, the takeaway is that policy tweaks on duty can shift gold flows from official books to unofficial channels, a trend worth tracking in import data and jewellery demand. Source: Deccan Herald.

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