By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, DEC 05, 2024: SANJAY Malhotra, Secretary, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, inaugurated the 67th Foundation Day celebrations of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) - the apex anti-smuggling agency of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) - in New Delhi, yesterday.

Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Chairman, CBIC; Shashank Priya, Member, CBIC; and Mohan Kumar Singh, Member and Principal Director General, DRI, were also present on the dais on the occasion, besides retired and serving senior officials of CBIC and other Indian Law Enforcement Agencies. The inauguration was also attended by delegates from 13 foreign customs administration and other multilateral agencies.

In his address on the occasion, Malhotra congratulated the DRI on its 67th Founding Day and underlined that drug trafficking is not merely a law enforcement issue but a grave social challenge confronting the youth of the country. Malhotra commended DRI for its relentless pursuit in dismantling drug syndicates that threaten the well-being of the nation's future and stressed upon the need to apprehend the masterminds and the main kingpins of crime. The Revenue Secretary noted the contribution of DRI in tackling wildlife smuggling specially after its recent empowerment under the Wildlife Life Protection Act.

Malhotra emphasised the importance of continuous technological advancement and urged DRI to embrace and integrate cutting-edge technologies such as Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in its operations to enhance detection and enforcement capabilities. While acknowledging the vital role of DRI in revenue generation, Malhotra emphasised the need for DRI to maintain a balance between the enforcement actions and unhindered legitimate trade for broader economic interests of the country.

In his address on the occasion, lauding the intelligence and investigative insights of DRI, Sanjay Kumar Agarwal said that these have been instrumental in identifying and addressing gaps in policy making.

While appreciating the contributions and the tireless efforts of DRI officers, the CBIC Chairman exhorted the DRI officials to further increase the technical and human capacity of DRI to overcome the ever-increasing usage of technology by criminals.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Mohan Kumar Singh presented the highlights of DRI's achievements and contributions in the previous year in combatting drug trafficking, gold and wildlife smuggling, commercial frauds and other transnational crimes.

The Smuggling in India Report 2023-24 and the DRI Bulletin for the period April-September 2024 highlighting the trends in Smuggling and Commercial Frauds were released. Commendation certificates were presented to officers who have made exceptional contributions to the work and mission of DRI.

The inaugural event was followed by the 9 th edition of the Regional Customs Enforcement Meeting which saw participation from 13 countries and two international agencies i.e. UNODC and INCB. Various ways aimed at enhancing international cooperation to tackle the menace of smuggling were deliberated upon during the meeting.