How 'Special 700 tourist' GST officers ran a 'Tower of Gold' operation to seize 108 kg of gold in Kerala
unaccounted gold in overnight raids at 78 gold jewellery manufacturing units and wholesale dealers in and around Thrissur, TOI reported.
Codenamed Torre del Oro (Tower of Gold), the operation ran from 4:30 PM on Wednesday to 11 AM on Thursday, with more than 700 officials discreetly transported from various parts of the state under the pretense of a leisure trip to maintain confidentiality.
GST Special Commissioner Renn Abraham revealed to TOI that the raids targeted a mix of large, medium, and small-scale units, leading to a shocking confession from the owner of one firm who disclosed a suppressed sales turnover of ₹1,200 crore.
Deputy Commissioner (Intelligence) of GST Dinesh Kumar explained that the raids were the result of six to seven months of intelligence gathering and meticulous planning, with details shared only among a select group of top officials. Many participants were discreetly brought to Kochi and Thrissur for training programs to keep the operation under wraps. Officials arrived at Thekke Gopura Nada in Thekkinkadu Maidan, Thrissur, in private tourist buses and cars, posing as tourists, and were deployed in batches for the raids.
While some officials entered the firms to conduct searches, others monitored the staff from outside, even keeping watch from parked autorickshaws. In a dramatic turn of events, several employees attempted to flee with gold, but officials quickly intervened, recovering approximately 6.5 kg from one individual who tried to escape.
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