Customs official assures efforts to tackle gold smuggling through sea

With the noose tightening around smugglers using the sea route to smuggle gold, a total of Rs 21 crore worth of the precious metal has been seized over the last one year-ending February 2019, a customs official said Monday. Speaking to reporters here, commissioner of customs Ranjan Kumar Rowdry, the haul of gold confiscated last year was several times higher than seized over the previous two years.

As part of efforts to curb gold-smuggling, several steps were underway, including the installation of solar-powered light on the coastal areas including Thondi, Rameswaram and Mandapam areas, at a cost of Rs 6.90 lakh, he said.