Page 65 - DRI ANNUAL REPORT EBOOK

A view of the porous Indo-Bangladesh border at Ichamati river (the international border lies in the middle of this river) located in Bongaon, West Bengal.
The Nathu La pass, which is located in the state of Sikkim at an altitude of 14440 feet above the MSL, forms a part of the ancient Silk Route connecting China to India via Sikkim. In 2006, this route was reopened for seasonal trade for listed commodities between the authorised local traders from India and China. However, the facility has been misused in recent times to smuggle in gold and other contrabands in substantial quantities.
The 1770 km India-Nepal border and the 699 km India-Bhutan border are open borders where citizens enjoy free passage through designated locations. The
multiplicity of routes along the border, the ease with which the border can be crossed and the existence of ready markets on both sides poses significant challenges in tackling smuggling. The cultural similarities of the population living on both sides of India-Nepal border have created informal channels of trade between them and thus making interdiction and detection an arduous task. Smuggling of gold, drugs, FICN, Essential items, is quite rampant along the India-Nepal border along with human trafficking. In the recent past, local Bhutanese nationals have been apprehended with foreign origin gold in India.
SMUGGLING IN INDIA REPORT 2019-20 31