The gold was flown home from Dubai 24 hours before it was confirmed. By bringing two women carriers. The capsules were injected into their bodies and released on the plane. They delivered it to the country where it needed to be delivered.
He got in touch with the smuggling gang in Kerala, saying that he was interested in making money in gold smuggling. Shabir, a native of Kasarkot, reached the agent after a lot of work and going through many links. The matter is told: His name is Jayarajan. Native to Paddy. It is the money received from the real estate business done with friends in the country. It is not difficult to pay four to five crore rupees for gold debt. The agent had no doubts as he was a person who came through someone he knew well. But I put one condition: the stages and methods of gold lending must be seen firsthand. So pay. After constant pressure, the agent agreed. The first meeting took place on July 26 at 12 noon in a hotel room in Al Mutina, Dubai.
Glimpses of the gold market
Shabir reached the hotel room with Mr. M, the leader of the gold smuggling group. It was agreed that smuggling would be done through partnership with Mr. M and Shabir would be the main agent. Shabir will take care of the carriers and other things. Smuggling gold by concealing it in carriers’ bodies, clothes or cardboard boxes.
I asked: It is not enough to say all this. Can you see the gold being hidden?’
‘Those are done by other people. Not even us. What about you? ‘ replied.
I decided to see what was hidden. Shabir called someone on the phone and spoke. So to the gold market called Dubai Gold Souk. There are rows of gold shops in the Gold Souk. Large showrooms of world famous brands, including those of Malayalis. There are also small shops. The small alleys of the main road are full of small gold shops.
Only Shabir came along. The trip was to the jewelery shop of another person from Kozhikode. Jewelery on the ground floor and jewelery factory on the upper floor. Generally all jewelers here are of this type. The jeweler was in the corridor on the second floor. From the corridor, the door to the jewelry factory opened. There are seven people doing something in a cardboard box. I thought I would see it in detail but it didn’t happen. Moments later I was kicked out and the door closed.
The jeweler was talking on the verandah. 2 jewelers were close by watching us. After seeing the CCTV cameras, the mobile phone had to be kept in the pocket. The owner of the jeweler explained hiding in clothes and hiding in cardboard from the corridor.
He left the jewelery store saying that he would meet again. Next day afternoon, Mr. M and Shabir reached the hotel room. ‘I am not the only one who saw this. We need some concrete evidence to convince the partners’: I said. Mr. M agreed to take photos and videos if he could afford the big ‘job’. Voice message on WhatsApp the next night: ‘Arrive at Gold Souk tomorrow at 4 pm’.
Golden birds flying ahead
He reached the Dubai Gold Souq before 4 pm the next day. Mr M appeared at half past five.
We walked from the main road to the Gold Souk, following the twists and turns of the small corridor. Went to a small shop and drank tea. The purpose of drinking tea and walking around should be to watch for someone behind me.
After another twist and turn, to the second floor of another building. It was from there that Mr. M bought the gold powder for one and a half rupees.
How is this being sent? – I asked as I came out.
‘Capsules will be made. It will burn in the body’.
‘Sending what?’
‘Tomorrow’.
Suddenly a young man in a black t-shirt and pants appeared on a battery scooter. Mr. M handed over the 2 packets to him without saying a word. The young man disappeared as quickly as he came.
‘How long will it take?’
‘half an hour’.
‘Can you see the encapsulation?’
‘That is not happening. We don’t show ourselves that.’
How many capsules make one and a half kilograms?’
‘Six. 250 grams each. Now let’s go to the office. Piller will deliver the goods there.’ At half past seven, the man came with the capsules.
6 black capsules. Mr. M checked the capsules with a handheld scanner. A loud beep sounded.
Meanwhile, when Mr. M went to the washroom, I captured the scene of the capsules on the table on my mobile phone. Within 5 minutes, Mr. M drove to the residence with a small bag of capsules. I was also included.
‘See you tomorrow then’.
‘When will it be sent?’
‘Tomorrow Night’.
I’m on my way. Mr. M was on the phone again the next afternoon.
‘Isn’t the item being sent today?’
‘They landed in Kozhikode on a night flight. The item has arrived. This evidence is not enough’.
(Enough of the new ‘entrepreneur’
(Perhaps due to disbelief, the thing crossed the sea 24 hours earlier than I was told).
On the night of the 28th, two female carriers were brought to Mr. M’s office, the capsules were injected into the body and left at the airport. The carriers reached home in Kozhikode and took out the gold and handed it over to the smuggling gang. On the morning of the 29th, the entire mixture was melted down at the secret center, converted into gold, and handed over to a jeweler in Malappuram (from where my source confirmed that the item had reached Malappuram).
Here is the calculation of the gold debt that started on July 28 at 6 pm and ended on the morning of July 29
Price of one and a half kg gold:
3,17,160 dirhams.
For Grinding: AED 300
For capsule: AED 600
Ticket for carriers: 1080 dirhams
Taxi and other charges: AED 500
Agent Commission: AED 2000
Total cost in Dubai: AED 3,21,640.
When 6 capsules were brought to Malappuram and refined, 1497.40 grams of gold was obtained. Sold to a jeweler in Malappuram district. 78,08,940 was received at the rate of Rs.5215 per gram. Expenditure after arrival in Kerala
2 Carriers Remuneration: Rs.1,00,000/-
For gold smelting: Rs.6000
Taxi and other expenses : 6000 Rs.
76,96,940 after deducting the expenditure in Kerala from Rs.78,08,940. Divide this by the reverse hawala rate of 22.6244 to get AED 3,40,205. (Hawala and reverse hawala rates are calculated in lakh rupees. That’s why 4 decimal places are considered. That is, if one lakh rupees is paid in Malappuram, 4420 UAE dirham will be received in Dubai.)
If you subtract Dh3,21,640 spent in Dubai from Dh3,40,205, you get Dh18,565. As per hawala rate to Malappuram it will be Rs 4,20,022. This is the profit earned for transporting 1.50 kg of gold. Profit per kg is Rs.2,80,014. Avoid agent and use own carriers to save agent’s commission (profit figure will also change depending on changes in gold prices and remittance rates)
Encapsulation and retraction
Powdered gold is mixed with castor oil, flour and a little water. It is rolled and filled inside the condom into a capsule weighing around 250 grams. Sometimes insulation tape is also pasted over it. Then it will be hidden in the private parts. The gold extracted from the body is heated in a gas furnace to extract it. After a while the capsules will start burning. The flour and castor oil will burn. Gold will be melted and solidified.
There are currently no strict legal restrictions on buying and selling gold in Dubai, which has liberal economic policies as a global trading hub. You can take as much gold as you want out of Dubai. The gold that is legally and publicly purchased from Dubai is smuggled in many countries including India when it is brought in more than a certain amount.
English Summary: Gold smuggling in Kerala, Investigation