India proving to be one of the top smuggling paradises on the world map.

In recent years the all-India contraband seizures have jumped dramatically hitting new heights every year. Although these seizures only provide a glimpse into this sordid world through customs or revenue intelligence, there is evidence that the flow of contraband goods into the country via strategically located coastal and border areas is increasing. Bringing in the latest in electronic gizmos, India is proving to be one of the top smuggling paradises on the world map.

At first sight, Kathari, a nondescript fishing village on the Daman coast looks no different from the other coastal villages strung out along India’s extensive coastline: a number of weather-beaten fishing boats sprawled drunkenly on the beach, tattered fishing nets pegged out to dry and a beehive cluster of thatched huts.

However, the customs launch patrolling the coastline a few weeks ago did notice one unusual difference – a homing signal being transmitted from somewhere in the village. Smelling something fishy, the customs party entered the village and traced the signal to a central building comparatively larger than the rest, obviously used as storage space for the day’s catch. Kathari’s fishermen, it transpired, had been using some pretty potent bait. Instead of the expected collection of pungent marine life, the shed was stacked with an assortment of gleaming new electronic goodies, including tape-recorders, calculators and watches. The estimated value of the haul: Rs 5.30 lakh.

Casting their net further, the customs officials discovered that the village’s outward appearance of poverty was rather deceptive. Virtually every family was in proud possession of at least one expensive imported item, ranging from a two-in-one, a Seiko watch to a Japanese umbrella. Kathari, however, is hardly unique and neither is its inconspicuous affluence. It is merely one of the hundreds of strategically-located coastal villages that have, in recent years, been generously “adopted” by smuggling syndicates as convenient conduits for the ever-escalating flow of contraband into the country.

Currently, it is possible to pick up the latest electronic gizmo, whether it is Sony’s new Walkman variant or JVC’s ultra-sophisticated video cassette recorder (VCR), within days of its rolling off the assembly line in Tokyo or Osaka, at any one of the innumerable urban outlets that have mushroomed over the past few years and put India firmly in the running for top seeding as a smugglers’ paradise.

https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19811130-india-proving-to-be-one-of-the-top-smuggling-paradises-on-the-world-map-773484-2013-10-25