In FY22, DRI seized 833 kg of gold, with the majority coming from Myanmar, worth of $405 million
160 instances of gold smuggling were discovered in 2021–2022. DRI officers seized gold weighing 833.07 kg and valued at Rs 405 crore.
According to a report from the finance ministry, revenue intelligence officials confiscated 833 kilogrammes of smuggled gold worth Rs 405 crore in 2021–2022 with the majority of the precious metal coming from Myanmar, a neighbouring country.
Since the majority of the gold confiscated in 2020–2021 and 2022–2023 was of Myanmar origin, DRI officers have seen a dramatic shift in the pattern of gold smuggling during the pandemic.
The Middle East was the primary source of gold that was smuggled in 2019–20.
160 instances of gold smuggling were discovered in 2021–2022. DRI officers seized gold weighing 833.07 kg and valued at Rs 405 crore.
According to the DRI’s “Smuggling in India report 2021-22,” even during the epidemic, organised trans-national crime syndicates were smuggling gold using cunning concealing methods.
India is, next China, the world’s second-largest gold consumer. India imported 34.62 billion dollars’ worth of gold in 2020–21; in 2021–22, that number rose to 46.14 billion dollars, a rise of 33.34 percent.
The study also claimed that the courier route has seen an increase in gold smuggling. Additionally, since there was an interruption in air traffic due to the pandemic, the smugglers are taking the ground route.
The study claims that “much of this smuggled gold originated in Myanmar and was carried into India by the conventional Tamu-Moreh-Imphal itinerary in Manipur, which passes through a substantial area. of unsecured yet challenging terrain, and the Zokhatwar route in Mizoram.”
In 103 incidents during the course of the year, DRI seized a total of 28,334 kilogramme of illegal drugs.
Drugs have traditionally been brought into India through the passenger route. The number of incidents where drugs were discovered to have been smuggled through the cargo route, however, surged during the epidemic.
According to the DRI analysis, this is largely due to the collapse of passenger aviation traffic during the epidemic as well as the most recent political upheavals in Afghanistan.
The DRI report also voiced worry over the illegal sale of cigarettes, claiming that the high tax incidence on the sinful good is leading to a tax arbitrage in favour of illegal sales.
According to the report, smuggled cigarettes cost, on average, 50% less in the Indian market than comparable local brands.
From the standpoint of public health, the smuggling of cigarettes is a significant problem because some of these cigarettes are counterfeit and include inferior tobacco and other additives.
DRI authorities seized 11 crore sticks worth Rs 93 crore in 2021–2022 While 47% of this came from Myanmar, 22% came from the UAE, and 31% came from other sources.
According to the research, the COVID-19 pandemic has compelled decision-makers and corporate leaders worldwide to carefully review their established policy and economic paradigms. The same is true for traffickers in illegal goods and smugglers.
The pandemic’s problems were met by these evil forces as they “too quickly adapted to the dynamics of changing circumstances and started employing innovative modus operandi that were sturdy and durable, like any other economic agent aiming to maximise his profitability within the exogenous and force majeure constraints,” it was added.