The Mumbai Customs department seized narcotics, foreign currency, gold, and precious stones worth over Rs 46 crore at the Mumbai international airport in a week.
Over 60 kg of gold "concealed and smuggled" by several passengers on three flights coming from Singapore and Malaysia was seized at the Visakhapatnam airport by the directorate of revenue intelligence, officials said on Monday.
The Director General of Police (DGP) of the Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, Ramachandra Rao, has denied any knowledge of his stepdaughter Ranya Rao's alleged involvement in gold smuggling. Rao expressed deep distress over the incident, saying his reputation has been tarnished irreparably. He emphasised his lifelong dedication to honesty, integrity and discipline, and said his commitment to public service has always been his priority. Rao said he had no knowledge of the situation unfolding in his life and asked for fairness towards himself and his family. The DGP assured that if any laws were violated by Ranya, legal action would be taken.
Ramachandra Rao is presently serving as the Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
Rao acted in an "obscene manner which is unbecoming of a government servant and also caused embarrassment to the government", his suspension order read.
The stringent curbs on gold imports has resulted in a huge flow of smuggled gold, being financed by buying dollars from the hawala market.
It is difficult to make conveyor belt and baggage-scanning scenes thrilling -- which is how most people trying to sneak out through the Green Channel are caught -- but Neeraj Pandey and co-director Raghav M Jairath and co-writer Vipul K Rawal make sure there is enough going on to make the series watchable, raves Deepa Gahlot.
NIA said that accused Ramees KT and Sharafudheen had travelled to Tanzania and visited shops in the African country where guns are sold. In Tanzania, Rameez attempted to procure a licence for the diamond business. He later smuggled gold to the UAE.
In the second half of April, the discount on gold came down to $3 an ounce.
Thirty people who were detained at the Lucknow airport for allegedly smuggling gold into the country escaped after one of them pretended to fall sick and created chaos, officials said.
A controversy surrounding the gold-clad plates of the Dwarapalaka idols at Sabarimala temple has ignited a political row in Kerala, with opposition parties alleging theft and demanding a comprehensive investigation into temple inventories and the role of a sponsor in the replating process.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against smugglers bringing gold into India from abroad through various airports. The investigation follows the recent arrest of Kannada actor Ranya Rao at Bengaluru airport with 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore. Two CBI teams have been deployed to Mumbai and Bengaluru airports to gather information.
Kannada actress Ranya Rao's frequent trips to Dubai have come under intense scrutiny following her arrest for allegedly smuggling gold into India.
Customs officials in Kerala conducted raids across the state, seizing luxury vehicles illegally imported from Bhutan with forged documents. The operation, dubbed 'Operation Numkhor,' targeted multiple locations and uncovered a network involved in smuggling cars, gold, and drugs.
Kannada actress Ranya Rao's stepfather, Director General of Police Ramchandra Rao, has been sent on compulsory leave.
Total pending Customs arrears, including amounts under litigation, court stays and cases where the appeal period has not expired, stood at about Rs 1.36 trillion at the end of December 2024.
A day after Suresh, a prime accused who was recently released on bail gave a series of interviews to television channels, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan accused Chief Minister Pinarayi's office of intervening to get the illegal baggage released and helping the accused to leave the state.
The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has confirmed that Kannada actor Ranya Rao, recently arrested for gold smuggling, was allotted 12 acres of industrial land in 2023 by the previous BJP government for setting up a steel plant. The allocation was approved during a state-level meeting in January 2023, when the BJP was in power. The Congress government, which came to power after the May 2023 elections, has released documents confirming the land allotment. Ranya Rao was arrested after gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from her at Bengaluru airport.
While some of them were excellent, most were passable. But many were far superior to the theatrical releases.
Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru International Airport for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kg of gold. Authorities suspect she may have attempted to use her connections to bypass customs checks. Officials are investigating whether she was acting alone or part of a larger smuggling network.
Wardak had taken charge as the acting ambassador of Afghanistan to New Delhi since late last year after working as the Afghan Consul General in Mumbai for over two years.
UDF convener Benni Behanan said the Front has also decided to move a resolution against Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan and seek his resignation.
The government has asked jewellers to provide information on purchases of gold bars or jewellery worth more than Rs 500,000 by the end of this month, a move seen keeping a check on big transactions amid rising smuggling.
An alert has been issued by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, lead agency to check smuggling and customs duty evasion, to all international transit points across the country, official sources said.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has stepped up its watch on the import of unbranded gold jewellery amid a spurt in seizures on international borders and from importers. During FY24, the CBIC and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) jointly seized about 5 tonnes of gold, 30 per cent more than what they did in FY23. In FY23, 3.5 tonnes of gold was confiscated.
Based on the estimate, a courier bringing in 1 kg of gold currently worth around $40,000 at world prices could earn $470 if not caught.
The government has hiked gold import duty to 15 per cent from 10.75 per cent to check the current account deficit (CAD) and rising import of the yellow metal. The duty changes came into effect on June 30. Earlier, the basic customs duty on gold was 7.5 per cent, now it will be 12.5 per cent.
In a letter written by Director General of DRI Najeeb Shah, Air India has been asked to sanitise its staff, especially those involved in ground-handling duties, official sources said.
Sejal Shah's flatly-narrated timeline would probably serve better as a documentary, observes Sukanya Verma.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday searched locations in Karnataka, including educational institutions linked to state Home Minister G Parameshwara, as part of a probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actor Ranya Rao and others. The ED sources said an educational trust is suspected to have "diverted" funds and made a payment of Rs 40 lakh towards the credit card bill of Rao, allegedly on the instructions of an influential individual. The sources claimed the trust is linked to Parameshwara and the "influential" individual is a politically exposed person. The searches found there were no supporting vouchers or documentation to "substantiate" this payment (for credit card bill payment), they said.
The gold, weighing over 30 kg, was seized from the "diplomatic baggage" that had landed by air cargo at the Thiruvananthapuram international airport recently from the Gulf.
Key accused in the sensational gold smuggling in diplomatic bags case, Swapna Suresh, on Wednesday claimed a co-accused in the case was allegedly forcibly taken away from her residence on Wednesday morning, after she claimed there was a threat to her life and that is why she gave a statement to a court about the alleged involvement of others, including the Kerala chief minister.
'It has also outlived its initial purpose of reducing physical gold imports.'
Swapna is among the four accused booked by the NIA in the smuggling of 30 kg of gold through diplomatic baggage which arrived at the Thiruvanathapuram International airport.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday continued its searches at places linked to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara as part of the probe into alleged gold smuggling-linked money laundering case against Kannada actress Ranya Rao and others, official sources said.
Most investors should have a 5% to 10% allocation to gold for diversification. They should stagger their investments to mitigate timing risk.
The demand for gold is expected to take a hit if the price of the yellow metal - which has been hovering around Rs 60,000, a level never seen before - remains elevated. Due to a sharp increase in price in a very short time and the flow of smuggled gold continuing, gold price in Mumbai is quoted at around Rs 59,000 per 10 gram. Typically, overall demand in the January-March and July-September quarters is moderate-to-dull, which is the case in the ongoing period.
The ED case has been booked under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the agency will record the statement of the accused. The central agency will investigate if proceeds of crime were generated by the accused by laundering of funds that were earned through the alleged gold smuggling racket.
A rise in import duty could be a reason for increase in illegal consignments, say experts.
'Customers are coming in; if they aren't buying, they are at least visiting the stores, which was not the case before the Budget.'
