Gold Seizure at LAC uncovers Cross-Border Smuggling Racket
Yash Khajuria
Leh, Sept 09: The Enforcement Directorate has revealed that a transnational cartel trafficked nearly 1,064 kilograms of foreign-origin gold into India between 2023 and 2024 through clandestine routes along the Tibet border, with settlements carried out via cryptocurrency transactions to evade detection. The disclosure emerged from an ongoing investigation into the smuggling network that has triggered coordinated raids in Delhi-NCR and Ladakh, where residences and commercial establishments were searched under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.
Officials stated that incriminating documents, financial records, and digital evidence have been seized, shedding light on the syndicate’s financial and logistical operations.
The investigation follows a major seizure of 108 kilograms of contraband gold by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which led to the Enforcement Directorate’s wider probe. According to officials, the smuggling enterprise relied heavily on digital currencies, particularly USDT (Tether), to settle payments across borders while concealing the financial trail. Acting under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence had earlier detained ten individuals linked to the cartel in preventive custody, aiming to disrupt its continuity.
Enforcement Directorate officials identified a Chinese national, Bu-Chum-Chum, as the principal foreign handler who directed consignments across the Line of Actual Control. Once inside Indian territory, the gold was delivered to Ladakh resident Tendu Tashi, described as the central conspirator responsible for overseeing logistics and market distribution. Investigators allege that Tashi organized the movement of bullion from Ladakh to Delhi, where it was dispersed to jewelers and traders, allowing illicit gold to infiltrate legitimate domestic markets.
The inquiry further points to the involvement of Tibet resident Tenzin Khandap, entrusted with transporting consignments across the frontier into Indian territory. Upon crossing, local porters were hired to carry the bullion inland. Acting on Tashi’s directions, Khandap’s uncle, Tenzin Sampel, recruited two porters who successfully smuggled 108 kilograms of gold before law enforcement intercepted the consignment. Authorities said this reliance on familial and community ties demonstrates the cartel’s operational methods to maintain secrecy while navigating high-risk terrain.
Preliminary valuation places the total worth of the trafficked gold at approximately ₹800 crore. Enforcement officials confirmed that proceeds from the bullion were routed back to Bu-Chum-Chum in China through layered cryptocurrency transactions, effectively laundering illicit profits and obstructing audit trails. The agency has now shifted focus toward tracing the global financial links of the cartel and identifying additional facilitators involved in the illegal supply chain.
The crackdown highlights the scale of India’s battle against organized gold smuggling, which remains one of the most persistent forms of economic crime undermining foreign exchange reserves. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence reported that in the fiscal year 2023–24 alone, over 1,319 kilograms of gold were seized across India, with land and air corridors accounting for the majority of interceptions. Officials warned that the use of digital currencies in these networks reflects a broader trend in transnational crime, where cryptocurrencies are weaponized to obscure illicit flows.
Beyond its economic consequences, the smuggling racket carries diplomatic undertones, with enforcement agencies noting that such cross-border activities exploit fragile border management between India and China.
The Enforcement Directorate said the investigation remains active, with further detentions, confiscation of assets, and scrutiny of foreign linkages anticipated in the coming weeks.
