Smuggled Gold in Flower Pots Defying India Import Limits

Returning home to the southern Indian state of Kerala from Dubai last month, 27-year-old welder Mohammed Ahmed Jaffer was arrested after customs agents said they discovered gold in the lining of his brass flower pot.

Jaffer allegedly was offered 30,000 rupees ($491) from an importer seeking to bring in 1 kilogram of bullion valued at about $50,000 without paying the 10 percent customs tax, case documents made available to Bloomberg show. Such stories have become commonplace in India, where the government raised duties on gold three times last year and illegal imports almost doubled to about 200 metric tons, the World Gold Council estimates.