India duty hike linked to gold and silver smuggling surge
After India bumped up import duties on gold and silver from 6% to 15% in May, smuggling cases have shot up fast.
From mid-May to the end of June, gold seizures rose by 186%, while silver seizures jumped more than 10 times compared to earlier weeks.
Officials caught nearly 161 metric tons of gold and arrested 116 people during this period.
Jitin Prasada says customs teams vigilant
The higher duties were meant to cut down on imports and protect foreign reserves, but they've pushed more gold and silver into unofficial channels.
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada says customs teams are staying alert, while bullion expert Prithviraj Kothari points out that the duty hike has clearly fueled this surge.
Interestingly, smuggling had actually been dropping in recent years, until now.