Mangaluru: Udupi police, who are investigating into the recent abduction and robbery case involving a Kerala-based gold trader, have stumbled upon a rampant gold smuggling racket that is going on in the coastal districts for years.According to highly reliable sources, the smuggling of gold from Kerala to Karnataka especially in coastal districts, is going on from several years and the incident that occurred a week ago has shed light on the yellow metal mafia."We suspected gold smuggling when the victim Dilip T D from Thrissur, who was abducted and robbed by a gang, failed to furnish any documents with regard to the gold that he was carrying at the time of incident. Meanwhile, the jewellers in DK and Udupi, who purchased gold from him, have not received any bills. However, we have given him time to provide necessary documents," a senior official who is investigating the case told TOI on condition of anonymity.Explaining the modus operandi, the source, added that the yellow metal is first smuggled to Kerala from Gulf countries . Later, the traders there buy it at a much cheaper rate compared to the prevailing market rate and sell it to jewellers in Karnataka and other states for 10-20 percent profit. They usually sell gold to small-time jewellers. "We are investigating in this angle too. However, the enquiry is still in its initial stage," said K T Balakrishna, SP, Udupi.A senior I-T official, who did not want to be named, explained that be it any quantity of gold, it is mandatory to have an invoice of sale and purchase of gold. It is also the duty of the gold trader to maintain record of his purchases and sales. Culprits easily escape from being caught by I-T sleuths and police as they can generate fake gold purchase bills. Many Mumbai-based traders issue such bills, the IT official said.

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