Indian Customs on alert for travellers recruited at airports including Singapore's Changi to smuggle gold

Two men, supposedly belonging to one of three gold syndicate groups operating out of Changi Airport Terminal 1. They were seen sorting out gold chains near the entrance of the Departure Hall. - ST PHOTO: ZAIHAN MOHAMED YUSOF

SINGAPORE: The authorities in India, including Customs officials, are on the lookout for travellers acting as “gold mules”, who return home with jewellery they had agreed to carry for a fee.

This comes in the wake of a spike in gold smuggling to the country, and amid reports of syndicates targeting travellers at various airports in jurisdictions in the Gulf, as well as in Asia, including Malaysia and Singapore, where gold is cheaper than in India.