NEW DELHI: Courier and postal cargo have emerged as favourite modes of transportation of drugs by traffickers due to the anonymity associated with its use, a government report said.
The country’s large coastline with many major and minor ports is sensitive to drug trafficking through maritime also, the 2020-21 Smuggling in India, released by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said. The report said that seizure of narcotic drugs such as heroin being smuggled on boats, ships emanating from the Gulf region and Iran in the recent past, coupled with some Covid-19 curbs on air, land routes, suggested that the sea route would be exploited by drug traffickers in future also.
“Therefore, extra vigil is required for monitoring the territorial waters and the import consignments arriving through the sea route,” the report said. Citing some examples, the report said on August 10 last year DRI officers seized 191 kg of heroin at JNCH port.
The heroin was concealed under goods declared as “mulethi – a medicinal herb.
“Concealment of narcotics in courier or postal parcels and containerized cargo poses a formidable challenge for the Customs and the DRI.
The volume of trade makes it impractical to check all consignments,” said the report, adding that this makes it imperative for the DRI to use data analytics for tracking such consignments.
The country’s large coastline with many major and minor ports is sensitive to drug trafficking through maritime also, the 2020-21 Smuggling in India, released by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said. The report said that seizure of narcotic drugs such as heroin being smuggled on boats, ships emanating from the Gulf region and Iran in the recent past, coupled with some Covid-19 curbs on air, land routes, suggested that the sea route would be exploited by drug traffickers in future also.
“Therefore, extra vigil is required for monitoring the territorial waters and the import consignments arriving through the sea route,” the report said. Citing some examples, the report said on August 10 last year DRI officers seized 191 kg of heroin at JNCH port.
The heroin was concealed under goods declared as “mulethi – a medicinal herb.
“Concealment of narcotics in courier or postal parcels and containerized cargo poses a formidable challenge for the Customs and the DRI.
The volume of trade makes it impractical to check all consignments,” said the report, adding that this makes it imperative for the DRI to use data analytics for tracking such consignments.
