Spike in cocaine, contraband cigarettes, and currency seizures: India’s anti-smuggling agency

The bulletin highlights that escaped commercialized warehousing zones successful West Asia, peculiarly successful Dubai, are becoming large transit hubs for contraband cigaret smuggling from Southeast Asia to India. The archetypal fractional of FY25 saw cigaret seizures ascent by 19 per cent, reaching 3.95 crore sticks, compared to 3.31 crore sticks during the aforesaid play successful FY24.

Illicit overseas currency seizures person besides surged. DRI officials seized Rs 13.8 crore successful overseas currency during the archetypal fractional of FY25, surpassing the Rs 12.4 crore confiscated successful each of FY24. Additionally, the bureau uncovered a Rs 576 crore trade-based wealth laundering (TBML) racket. The strategy progressive importing inexpensive electrical goods and cosmetics astatine inflated prices to transmission overseas speech retired of the country.

Dip successful golden seizures

In FY24, DRI seized 1,319 kg of smuggled gold, somewhat little than implicit 1,450 kg confiscated successful FY23. Land routes, peculiarly from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Nepal, contributed to 55 per cent of the seizures portion aerial routes, progressively from definite African and Central Asian countries, contributed to 36 per cent.

“Gold smuggling successful India has evolved with smuggling syndicates present employing ‘mules’ with divers profiles, including overseas nationals and families, alongside insiders. Smuggling syndicates adjacent leverage planetary departure gates, wherever airdrome workers and different unit collude successful smuggling golden from transit passengers,” the study said.

In a large heist successful July, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) seized 108 kg of golden being smuggled connected mules by 2 porters successful eastbound Ladakh. The probe was handed implicit to DRI “given the wider ramifications”, which has led to the apprehension of 10 radical progressive successful the smuggling.

Lower heroin and ganja seizures

“In caller years, India has witnessed a marked summation successful the availability and usage of a wide scope of narcotic substances,” the study said. “Comparison of narcotics seizures implicit the past 5 years indicates an expanding inclination for cocaine, portion some heroin and ganja person shown a decreasing inclination successful presumption of quantity,” it added.

In FY24, DRI booked 109 cases involving 8,224 kg of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. This included 107 kg of cocaine (Rs 975 crore), 49 kg of heroin (Rs 365 crore), 236 kg of mephedrone (Rs 357 crore), and 136 kg of methamphetamine (Rs 275 crore).

Seizures of contraband cigarettes stood astatine 9.1 crore sticks successful FY24 valued astatine Rs 179 crore. The bulk of the smuggling was done oversea routes.

“Apart from the Myanmar- India border, the smuggling syndicates based successful South East Asia and the Middle East transportation retired large operations done oversea route. Free Trade Warehousing Zones successful the Middle East are emerging arsenic a large transit constituent from wherever cigarette- concealed consignments are shipped to India. Though illicit cigarettes are reportedly manufactured successful definite South East Asian countries, it appears that the consignments are initially shipped to Dubai from southeast Asia and past re-routed to India,” the bulletin noted.

Wildlife smuggling

In 5 operations, DRI seized 53.5 kg of elephant tusks successful FY24. Other wildlife items seized crossed the state see leopard skins, unrecorded pangolins, pangolin scales, parakeets, unrecorded peacocks, peacock feathers, and Indian turtles. The Wildlife Protection Act was amended successful 2023 to authorize customs officers nether Section 50(1)(c) to prehend illegally traded wildlife wrong the country, effectual from April 1, 2023.

“The rivers successful India’s Gangetic plain teem with beingness including galore indigenous taxon of turtles. In a large crackdown, DRI conducted a bid of operations and rescued 643 turtles,” the bulletin said.