Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday commended the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for its action against smuggling of banned articles, including drugs and gold.
Addressing DRI officials on its 63rd Founding Day, Ms. Sitharaman said the number of arrests and seizures made by the agency could be an indication that it was just the tip of the iceberg. She exhorted officials to remain on their toes. The DRI’s annual report was released on the occasion.
In 2019-20, the DRI arrested arrested 837 economic offenders and unearthed 761 complex cases of Customs duty evasion to the tune of ₹2,183 crore. It also detected 412 cases of smuggling leading to the seizure of contraband worth ₹1,949 crore.
“This year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the officers of DRI worked tirelessly and made some significant seizures...in November this year, officers of DRI intercepted two trucks and seized 66.4 kg of gold valued at ₹35 crore which was smuggled into India through Indo-Myanmar border,” said the agency. In August, it had seized 83.62 kg of gold worth ₹42.89 crore from eight train passengers in Delhi.
The DRI also busted an international drug smuggling racket during a three-day-long operation codenamed ‘Calypso’ last month, with the seizure of 3.3 kg of cocaine.