Guns earlier, now gold smuggled from Myanmar is worrying India.
“Gold is the biggest contraband from Myanmar,” T Bijando Singh, superintendent of the Imphal division of customs and stationed at Moreh along the Myanmar border said.
When militant outfits in the northeast started laying down arms five-six years ago, the parallel economy that depended on them took a hit. Arms smuggling had been big across the India-Myanmar border. The routes were in place. So were the networks of carriers. All that was needed was a new product. So a switch was made — from AK-47s to gold.
“Gold is the biggest contraband from Myanmar,” T Bijando Singh, superintendent of the Imphal division of customs and stationed at Moreh along the Myanmar border, told TOI. Gold enters India as biscuits, each weighing 166g and with no mark of origin, from deposits in Kachin and Kayin states and the four regions of Mandalay, Sagaing, Bago and Tanintharyi. “Gold consignments change hands quickly,” Singh said.
The first stop is Imphal, from where gold is sent out — by road through Dimapur in Nagaland or Silchar in Assam and then by rail or air to Kolkata or New Delhi. From these points, it is distributed to other parts of India. Most gold seizures by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have been from Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, which are big consumption centres of smuggled gold. And the gold is of high quality — with a purity of 99.76%.
Customs seized 3,223 kg gold worth Rs 974 crore in 2017-18. A DRI report adds that smuggled gold that ends up being seized accounts for just 5-10% of the total illegal trade – which means that even by conservative estimates the gold smuggling market in India is worth at least Rs 9,000 crore.
Driving this gold rush are three factors. Myanmar’s gold is cheaper, at least Rs 400-500 lower per gram than Indian gold. Import duties in India are high — 10% customs duty and 3% GST. And while Myanmar does not allow trade of gold in its native form, the product’s demand is the highest in India. Sources say a share of the gold exported by India to the Middle East is from the stash originally smuggled in from Myanmar.
Lear MoreIndia’s Coastal Security: Perspectives, Challenges and Prospects
India will now allow its police stations on land to extend their jurisdiction to 200 nautical miles into the high seas. The Union Home Ministry has extended the jurisdictional limits for notified police stations from the existing 12 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles by issuing a government notification. As many as 10 police stations have already been notified in the eight states that share the Indian coastline. Following the 26/11 terror attacks, the Coast Guard were made responsible for securing Indian territorial waters extending up to 12 nautical miles (about 22 kilometers) from the shore, and new coastal police stations had been proposed to maintain security up to five nautical miles from the shore. The new limits of 200 nautical miles for land police will now add greater depth to the patrolling. The extension was an important development in allowing a greater say to local police while dealing with cases of smuggling and terrorism. This is an important development in an attempt to secure India’s 7,516-km-long coastline. Each state, just like how Mumbai has the Yellow Gate police station, will have its own notified station with a territory jurisdiction of 200 nautical miles. Union Home Minister Mr. Rajnath Singh approved proposal by Maharashtra Chief Minister Mr. Devendra Fadnavis to create Central Marine Police Force to patrol Indian coast line. Marine policing is a specialised job, so a central marine police force be created to protect sea, coast, ports and vital installations.
Limitations of Coastal Security Measures
Coastal Security measures implemented post 26/11 has enhanced surveillance and patrolling of Coastal areas. There are still some challenges which need to be taken care of, such as:
Detection of small boats which are being increasingly used by the non-state actors for their operations remains a daunting task especially so in dark and bad weather conditions.
Physical Guarding of Coast is not feasible by positioning security men all along the coast and at the sea like a typical ‘bandobast’ undertaken on land by the Police to nab criminal or terrorist.
Identification at sea continues to remain a challenge as coastal waters are highly crowded. Identification of a target boat midst large number of our own fishing boat and dense shipping traffic is very difficult. Unregulated fishing further complicates identification of friendly or foe. Further, identification of personnel manning boats is equally difficult in the absence suitable identity cards.
Identification problem is not only for small boats like the one used by Kasab for 26/11 attacks, but it also includes identification of thousands of containers and cargo vessels that call at our Ports or pass close to our coasts to prevent smuggling of arms, ammunition, explosives and human trafficking.
https://finsindia.org/journal/indias-coastal-security-perspectives-challenges-and-prospects/
Lear MoreKey financier in Rs 60 crore gold smuggling racket held.
MUMBAI: Ashfaq Shiningwala (54), a key financier from Gujarat in a syndicate that smuggled 185kg gold worth Rs 60 crore, was arrested by Directorate Revenue of Intelligence (DRI). The Surat resident is the 14th person to be arrested in one of the biggest international smuggling rackets that DRI busted in March.
DRI had seized 110kg gold concealed in brass, imported from Dubai, but declared as scrap. The accused imported the gold, declaring it as scrap at Mundra and Jamnagar ports in Gujarat, and then got it here by road. DRI later seized another 75kg gold hidden inside a Honda car of Shoeb Zordarwala. The probe suggested that the accused in last two years had smuggled around 300kg gold. DRI had initially arrested seven persons, including Nisar Aliyar, the kingpin and proprietor of several companies in the US, Dubai and Kochi in Kerala. His accomplices were Shoeb, his son Ahad, Zaveri Bazaar jeweller Raju alias Monoj Jain, Kalpesh Nanda, an assistant of Aliyar, ‘Happy Dhakad’ and hawala operator Aquil Fruitwala. Also seized from the Zordarwalas’ residence was Rs 1.8 crore.
NIA special court sentenced two for 10 years in fake currency case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) special court in Vijayawada on Wednesday sentenced two persons to 10 years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 30,000 for possessing Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN).On March 31 last year, sleuths of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) arrested two persons from Howrah-Hyderabad East Coast Express at Visakhapatnam Railway Station for possessing fake currency with a face value of Rs 10.2 lakhs in the denomination of Rs 2,000 notes. The two accused belongs to Mandya district of Karnataka and were identified as Mohammed Mahaboob Baig alias Azhar Baig and Syed Imran.
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15 people arrested and 2 million cigarettes seized in anti-smuggling operation.
Fifteen members of a Russian speaking gang were arrested last week in France and Belgium on charges of “organized smuggling” and “criminal conspiracy” as part of an investigation into the illegal import and resale of cigarettes, Europol has announced. Eight of the suspects were imprisoned, while the others were placed under judicial control. Some 2 million cigarettes were seized. The criminal organisation, composed mainly of Armenians and Ukrainians, smuggled cigarettes, but also other banned products, from Belgium to Paris and the west of France. The cigarettes, manufactured in Ukraine and Poland, were bought for 15 euros a carton and then resold for 40 euros throughout Europe. The group, described by Europol, which coordinated the investigation, as ‘very prolific’ had made nearly 70 deliveries of contraband goods, worth some 4 million euros, since it came into operation in October 2018. One of the Ukrainian gang leaders was arrested on Tuesday in France driving a truck containing 500 cartons of cigarettes and 10,000 euros in cash. Ten others were arrested in the Île-de-France region and another in Nantes. All are from Ukraine, Armenia, Poland or Azerbaijan
Lear MoreGolden Triangle: Challenges to India’s National Security
Sun Tzu’s famous words “The nature of war is constant change” looks like a premonition of today’s world, engulfed in multiple types of war. Indian security forces with their primary mission of ensuring national security from external aggression are also engaged in preventing various non-conventional threats emerging from poor governance, economic backwardness, terrorism, drug trafficking, gun running, ethnic conflicts, large-scale migration, and environmental degradation that infringe national security.
One such threat to our internal security is the menace of drug trafficking. The growing instances of drug trafficking in India were highlighted in the 2018 annual report by the United Nations-backed International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). According to the report, India is one of the major hubs for illicit drug trade. Though drug abuse prevails across India, regions in the northwest and northeast have rampant linkages with the global narcotics industry. India’s strategic location places it amid two largest sources of illicit drugs in South Asia- Golden Crescent (Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran) on the northwest and the infamous Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos) on the northeast. This article will focus on the key challenges to India’s security concerns with respect to the Golden Triangle.
Golden Triangle
The notorious Golden Triangle represents the region coinciding with the rural mountains of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand. It is Southeast Asia’s main opium-producing region and one of the oldest narcotics supply routes to Europe and North America. With a 1643km long border with Myanmar, India has been at risk for the longest time, even before the emergence of Golden Crescent.
States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, and Nagaland share their border with Myanmar. Drugs including opium, heroin, methamphetamine and many more are smuggled from Myanmar into the northeast. Also, drugs illicitly cultivated in India travel through the same route for trade. Drugs produced in the ‘Golden Triangle’ enter India through Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland from Bhamo, Lashio, and Mandalay in Myanmar. The route bifurcates and one channel moves northwards through Moreh in Manipur while other moves southwards to enter Champai in Mizoram. Moreh (Manipur), Champai (Mizoram), Dimapur (Nagaland), and Guwahati (Assam) have become the nucleus of drug trafficking industry in India’s northeast.
https://indianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/CLAWS/Golden%20Triangle.htm
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$200,000 in counterfeit products seized at Port of Shreveport.
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Hundreds of counterfeit items have been seized at the Port of Caddo-Bossier. Over the last five months, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized more than $200,000 in counterfeit and potentially dangerous products. The most recent seizure was a shipment of 120 fake Yeti tumblers, 210 counterfeit Kylie Jenner and Urban Decay makeup sets, and more than 2,200 counterfeit Otter Box and Apple phone cases. More than 320 fake Apple chargers and ear pods were also confiscated. “Counterfeit electronics, you could have poor quality power cords, the lights they could cause fires, shock hazards. Counterfeit makeup could do damage to one’s skin. A lot of times products, could have high levels of lead in them without individuals realizing it.” Jim Norris, the Port Director for the Shreveport U.S. Customs and Border Protection office adds that these fake products also hurt legitimate American businesses.
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BOC, Navy intercept P25M worth of smuggled cigarettes in Zamboanga.
Customs and Navy agents seize 740 boxes of cigarettes – likely smuggled from Malaysia – in Zamboanga City last June 20, 2019. The contraband was loaded onto “MJ Farnaliza” and valued at P25 million. Photo courtesy of Bureau of Customs MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Philippine Navy operatives have intercepted a boat that was carrying smuggled tobacco products worth P25 million in Zamboanga City. The contraband loaded onto the boat named “MJ Farnaliza” likely came from Malaysia, according to authorities. BOC and Navy members seized the smuggled cigarettes last June 20. Authorities believe MJ Farnaliza came from Jolo province. Three crew members of the boat were also arrested during the operation, a source from BOC’s Intelligence and Investigation Service told INQUIRER.net on Monday. The source added that the crewmen, who claimed they were only hired to transport the 740 boxes of cigarettes to Zamboanga are currently placed under BOC’s custody as they undergo further investigation.
Lear MoreDRI arrests 4 men with forex worth Rs 1.27 crore at Delhi airport
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested four men departing for Bangkok at the Delhi international airport for allegedly trying to smuggled out of forex worth Rs 1.27 crore, officials. The accused were arrested when they were to depart for Bangkok on, they said. A detailed search of the passengers and their baggage resulted in recovery of euros 1,52,000, equivalent to Rs 1.27 crore, the officials said. All the passengers were arrested and the forex was seized, they added.
http://www.dri.nic.in/writereaddata/8445517_2019-06-27.pdf
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Customs officials seize stash of fake iPhone components in Hong Kong.
$120,000 of knockoff parts for iPhones and other handsets have been seized by customs officials in Hong Kong. The parts were being used to repair handsets sent in from countries including the United States, U.K. and Australia. The director and manager of the company were arrested during a raid on the company’s offices in the city of Tuen Mun. The offices were being used as a workshop and warehouse. One hundred phones sent in for repairs were found onsite. “Inside the 5,000 sq ft unit, about 3,900 counterfeit phones and parts bearing the brands of Apple iPhone and Samsung were also confiscated, along with some machinery. The parts included phone screens and enclosures. The company hired three workers to carry out the repairs, but the local men were not arrested in the operation.” Investigating officials say that the repair work included replacing cracked screens and damaged enclosures. They are still investigating the source of the fake goods. In Hong Kong, the maximum punishment for selling counterfeit goods is five years in prison and a fine of $60,000.
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