Shri Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs, said that sharing information, using data analytics and usage of non-intrusive technologies should be harnessed to effectively battle the modus operandi of new-age smuggling networks. This he said at the 62nd Founding Day celebrations of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) here today.

While lauding the effort of the DRI, Shri Thakur said that DRI prevents illicit international trade and simultaneously provides economic and physical security to the country. He said that prevention is possible with active networking and in fact, it is networking that will come out as net-worth.

Shri Thakur focused on creating an infrastructure of security and welfare for our people by safeguarding issues of health, environment, culture and economy. He especially sought to protect youth from the menace of drugs to create a better future for India.

Earlier, Shri Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Revenue Secretary, Ministry of Finance, appreciated the DRI for having done excellent work. He said that he has observed DRI from close quarters as Revenue Secretary and he has seen the dedication beyond the call of duty by DRI personnel.

Shri P.K. Das, Chairman, CBIC, in his address said that DRI has been contributing towards building the nation and its presence from north to south and east to west is a testimony to its commitment, effort and coordination.

In his welcome address, Shri Balesh Kumar, Director General, DRI, said that in its more than 60 years of existence, DRI has been at the forefront of fighting smuggling and it continues to do so. While enumerating many achievements and challenges over the past decades by DRI, Shri Kumar said that the current challenge for DRI is to adopt and adapt the use of technology to check commercial frauds.

Shri Thakur also released Smuggling in India Report 2018-19 at the event.

Shri M. Venkata Suresh was posthumously given an award for his service to the nation. His wife collected the award from Shri Thakur.

The Founding Day celebrations also marked the opening of two-day 6th Regional Customs Enforcement Meeting (RCEM), where delegates and diplomats from friendly countries participated with enthusiasm. The RCEM is held to effectively engage with partner Customs organisations and International agencies like World Customs Organisation, INTERPOL for enforcement related issues.

This year, 21 Customs administrations covering the Asia-Pacific region along with international organisations such as Interpol, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Regional Intelligence Liaison Office – Asia Pacific (RILO AP) were invited to the event. This meeting comes in the backdrop of the heightened trafficking of the huge quantities of heroin noticed in the Indian Ocean Region.

About DRI

For more than six decades, DRI with its presence across India and abroad has been carrying out its mandate of countering organised crime groups engaged in smuggling of contraband goods such as arms, ammunitions & explosives, narcotic drugs& psychotropic substances, gold & diamonds, counterfeit currency notes, wildlife items, hazardous & environmentally sensitive materials and antiques. DRI also has expertise in unearthing commercial frauds, plugging leakage of Government’s tax revenue and countering trade based money laundering and black money.DRI has also been at the forefront in international Customs collaboration and has Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements with over 60 other countries, where thrust is on information exchange and learning from the best practices of other Customs administrations.

Use of technology to combat smuggling: data sharing and non-intrusive tools promoted to disrupt cross-border trafficking networks. Emphasis on deploying information sharing, data analytics and non-intrusive technologies to detect and disrupt new-age smuggling networks, adapting DRI capabilities to emerging commercial frauds and transnational trafficking. The summary highlights DRI's mandate against organised smuggling of contraband, the utility of Customs Mutual Assistance Agreements and international cooperation, and the role of regional forums to enhance information exchange, coordinated investigations and capacity-building against trade-based money laundering and cross-border trafficking.