Page 62 - DRI ANNUAL REPORT EBOOK

India’s 15,106.7 km land border and 7516.6 km coastline have always interested cartographers and explorers because of its sheer topographical diversity. The man-made borders present an interesting scenario whereby people of same ethnicity/ tribe live along both sides of the line only to be differentiated by their nationality. The Indian borders, which have the potential to develop into a separate genre of tourism, have unfortunately devolved into nerve centres for cross border smuggling. 605 seizures of outright smuggling, valued at Rs. 2768 Crores were effected by DRI in 2019-20 through various routes.
Among the commodities smuggled into the country, Gold occupies the prime position which is closely followed by Narcotics and Psychotropic substances, Cigarettes, Foreign Currency, Agricultural produce and Wildlife flora and fauna.
Major Commodities Smuggled in 2019-20 (Source: MPR Data, CBIC)
The diverse geography and difficult terrain are usually exploited by smuggling cartels with the help of the local populace. This poses a huge challenge to law enforcement agencies in their collective efforts to thwart cross border smuggling.
The above factor is acutely visible in the North East Region (NER) of India which comprises 8 states sharing approximately 99 per cent of their borders with neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar,
China and Bhutan. The NER is connected to rest of the country only through the Siliguri corridor popularly known as the “Chicken’s neck”. Mostly known for its strategic importance, this corridor today is a hot spot for cross border smuggling due to its proximate borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal. The NER shares a unique topography marked by rivers, dense forests and hilly terrains with altitudes ranging from near sea-level to over 7,000 metres
28 SMUGGLING IN INDIA REPORT 2019-20