Senior enforcement officials and international experts on Tuesday called for intelligence-led, globally coordinated action to dismantle increasingly sophisticated smuggling networks, as India expanded its customs cooperation framework and stepped up seizures across borders.
Speaking at the 5th Anti-Smuggling Day organised by FICCI CASCADE, Mohan Kumar Singh, Member– Compliance Management at the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), said enforcement must shift from isolated interceptions to systemic disruption of illicit ecosystems.
“Enforcement must move beyond event-based seizures to network-based disruption. We need to target financial flows, logistics enablers and international linkages that sustain these illicit ecosystems,” Singh said, describing smuggling as an organised, technology-driven economic crime with implications for national security and economic stability.
He said modern syndicates were “commodity-agnostic and technologically agile”, combining traditional concealment methods with digital anonymity, financial layering and cross-border coordination.
India has signed 42 Mutual Customs Cooperation Agreements and is negotiating 21 more with major trading partners, strengthening its international enforcement architecture, Singh said. Customs authorities are deploying risk-based inspections, non-intrusive examination systems, advanced cargo screening and AI-driven analytics to identify suspicious consignments before they enter the domestic market.
“In the first three quarters of the current financial year alone, we have seized around 500 kilograms of gold, nearly 150 million sticks of illicit cigarettes, over 20 metric tonnes of red sanders, approximately 120 kilograms of cocaine, around 50 kilograms of heroin, nearly 350 kilograms of amphetamines and close to 3,700 kilograms of hydroponic cannabis at airports. We have also detected over 100 wildlife trafficking cases, along with seizures involving dual-use goods, arms, ammunition, drones and Fake Indian Currency Notes,” Singh said.
Anil Rajput, Chairman of FICCI CASCADE, urged multilateral alignment to counter illicit trade.
“Combating smuggling cannot be the responsibility of one institution or one country alone. Strong partnerships among compliant nations are essential to promote legal trade, share intelligence, and decisively punish illicit operators,” Rajput said, adding that recognition of an International Anti-Smuggling Day by the United Nations could deepen cooperation.
P C Jha, Advisor, FICCI CASCADE and former CBIC Chairman, said enforcement agencies must dismantle financial structures sustaining illicit trade rather than merely intercepting consignments.
FICCI CASCADE cited a 2024 study estimating India’s illicit market at nearly Rs 8 lakh crore in 2022–23 across key sectors. An earlier report estimated that unlawful trade led to the loss of nearly 15.96 lakh legitimate jobs in 2019–20. |
