saffron smuggling scams every day as criminals try to illegally import the aromatic flower from Iran.

widening gap in prices of the commodity between countries has fuelled a rise in criminals turning to the seasoning as an easy way to make money.

Customs officials have warned of an alarming rise in the number of illegal consignments of the red strand-like spice being seized at airports. officers claim they are uncovering up to three saffron smuggling scams every day as criminals try to illegally import the aromatic flower from Iran. The trend is being driven by the fact that while saffron costs around £1,100 per kilo in Iran, it fetches double that figure in India. Prices have soared in India as dwindling domestic yields have caused demand to outstrip supply. Saffron is imported legally from Iran, but criminals have turned to smuggling in order to avoid high import duties and reap the rewards of inflated prices in India. It is thought that gangs operating from within Indian and also in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are employing saffron “mules” to carry parcels of the spice in their hold luggage on international flights. An Indian customs spokesman said: “The smugglers are operating through carriers, who are paid 25,000 Indian rupees (£365) per trip. “The processed saffron powder is packed along with the unaccompanied baggage.” He added that the packages, which normally weigh between three and 10kg, are difficult to trace because scanning devices often fail to pick up saffron. Most of India’s saffron is grown in Kashmir, where the annual crops in October have sustained thousands of families for centuries. However, production has fallen from around 40 tonnes 20 years ago to just six tonnes last year, with experts blaming climate change, poor irrigation, and pollution in the region. Consequently, prices have doubled in the past three years. Shakeel Ahmad Mir, a spokesman for the Kashmir Saffron Growers Association, said: “Severe drought conditions that prevailed in 2000 and 2005 has effected the saffron yield to a large extent. “With poor or no irrigational facilities and the pest attack on the crop, the saffron production has gone down by approximately 85 per cent during last 10 years.
“The demand is quite high in India and the mafia, mostly based in south Indian states and Mumbai, smuggle Iranian saffron which is sold at cheaper rates compared to Kashmiri saffron. “The high demand and the influx of smuggled Iranian saffron in Indian market at a lost cost have emerged as a major challenge for the Kashmiri saffron.”
Although the decline in Indian saffron production is affecting prices in the region, European markets are not significantly affected as Iran and Spain provide the bulk of the 3,000 tonnes grown worldwide every year. Apart from its use in cookery, saffron is also used for religious purposes and in the pharmaceutical, therapeutic, dyeing industries. The spice is derived from the flower of the saffron crocus and its production is thought to date back around 3,000 years.

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