Encompassing gold smuggling and narcotics trafficking, with seizures of 3.5 tonnes of gold, 18 crore cigarette sticks, 140 metric tonnes of red sanders, 90 tonnes of heroin, and other drugs by law enforcement agencies.
A recent report titled ‘Hidden Streams: Linkages Between Illicit Markets, Financial Flows, Organized Crime, and Terrorism,’ released by FICCI CASCADE, estimates a potential revenue loss of US $13 billion, involving both misinvoiced imports and exports to India.
The Chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, emphasized that the challenge of illicit trade has grown significantly and addressing issues like counterfeiting, smuggling, and tax evasion is crucial for safeguarding India’s economic stability.
The rampant irregularities and malpractices in import invoicing have led to a financial loss of $9 billion, with uncollected value-added tax (VAT) amounting to $3.4 billion.
The rise in narco trafficking is attributed to India’s proximity to major drug-producing regions, including the Golden Triangle (Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand) and the Golden Crescent (Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran). This proximity has resulted in increased transportation and distribution of illicit drugs. According to the FICCI report, there were 3,172 recorded cases of drug seizures during 2014-2022, compared to 1,257 cases in 2006-2013, with a total of 4,888 arrests and seizures involving 3.33 lakh kg of drugs worth ₹20,000 crore.
India’s illegal economy scores higher with a score of 6.3, exceeding the average score of 5 for 122 other countries, while scoring lower in the organized crime segment with a score of 4.3 against an average of 5.2 for other countries.
The report, compiled with inputs from various sources and government data, highlights that although India has fewer criminal actors, they are widespread and engage in various unlawful activities.
