Singapore: Smugglers scout Indian migrants to act as ‘gold mules’

According to a media report on Sunday, smugglers in Singapore have been soliciting Indian migrant workers who are returning home through Changi Airport to serve as “gold mules” by carrying valuables in exchange for a price. Passengers who express interest in being a gold mule are led to a private area within the airport, where a transaction is finalised. The courier is promised during talks that a syndicate runner will take the gold jewels from him upon his arrival in India, according to The Straits Times. While taking precious metals, such as gold, outside of Singapore is lawful, couriers who fail to register the gold they are bringing into India run the danger of breaching the law there, according to the source cited. Male citizens of India are allowed to enter the country with up to 20 grammes of duty-free gold worth a maximum of Rs 50,000 (SGD 800). In terms of weight and value, the restriction is doubled for female Indian nationals. Any excess gold jewellery beyond these thresholds will be subject to customs charges. According to Bilal, using “mules” to smuggle gold has been a tradition for many years. According to the article, those involved in gold smuggling at Changi Airport’s Terminal 1 want the “mules” to transport jewellery weighing between 25 and 30 grammes of gold, which is slightly over the permitted amount. According to the article, customs officers and other Indian authorities are keeping an eye out for tourists who are posing as gold mules. This follows an increase in the smuggling of gold into the nation, and there have been tales of syndicates preying on tourists at airports in the Gulf and Asia, namely Malaysia and Singapore, where the metal is less expensive than in India. Travellers are not limited in weight when it comes to the quantity of gold and other precious metals they can carry out of Singapore, according to a report from the Singapore Police Force. SGD 99 (about Rs 6,177) is the price of one gramme of 24 carat gold in India, the country that consumes the second most gold globally. (With agency inputs)