The preventive (anti-smuggling) wing of Custom Commissionerate at Mumbai claims that the so-called 'gold of Iran' — considered to be arguably the most high-quality saffron in the world — is increasingly being smuggled to the city through different channels, probably for consumption by nouveau riche consumers.
According to officials, about 93kg of Iranian saffron smuggled in several small caches were seized in 2015-16, with its total value estimated at over Rs1.57 crore in the open market.
According to principal commissioner of Customs (preventive) AK Jyotishi, since the security and vigilance at the Mumbai airport is comparatively high, the smugglers reportedly try to sneak in the saffron mostly via Afghanistan into other neighbouring Indian ports or airports, including those in Ahmedabad, Kochi, etc.
"The consignment would then be brought to Mumbai via road or rail, before being packaged to be sold in the market, with seals that said it was 'imported' from Iran," Jyotishi said on Monday. Daily wage earners are employed to operate the business, and even if a consignment or godown gets raided by Customs, no one comes out claiming to be its owner, the officials added.
One of the possible reasons for such smuggling, suspect the investigators, could be that there is heavy duty of about 50% imposed on the import of saffron. Hence, the smugglers could be indulging in such nefarious activities in order to make larger profit margins. Secondly, most Kashmiri traders claim that Kashmiri saffron is of a better quality than Iranian saffron, which brings the price of the latter down. Hence, the Iranian saffron is smuggled and allegedly mixed with Kashmiri saffron in order to get a higher price.
"We are keeping a watch on such smuggling as it has the potential to damage the local saffron industry, which is primarily in Kashmir," said a deputy commissioner, who identified himself only as Chetan.
Iran, which has recently been released of its economic sanctions by the US, is the world leader in saffron production, producing over 90% of the global total. A few other countries, such as Greece, Morocco, Spain, Italy and India produce the rest.
Saffron, which has been known to the human civilization since ancient times, requires a clean environment and has been in great demand for medicinal value, to add aroma to cuisines and even as an aphrodisiac. Legend says that it was used by the high and mighty, including by Alexander the Great for treating a battle wound, while Egyptian queen Cleopatra, one of the most famous female rulers in history, bathed in saffron for aphrodisiac reasons.
