Smugglers Switched To Novel Way Of Operations During Pandemic: Report
NDTV
In the report, a chapter -- Smuggling: Emerging trends during the pandemic -- provides a bird's eye view of the overall trends which have emerged during the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced smugglers and contraband traffickers to swiftly adapt to the dynamics of changing circumstances and they started using novel habitual ways of operating which were robust and resilient to the challenges posed by the pandemic, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence said in an annual report -- Smuggling in India Report 2021-22.
In the report, a chapter -- Smuggling: Emerging trends during the pandemic -- provides a bird's eye view of the overall trends which have emerged during the pandemic. It reported on the various aspects of smuggling in gold, narcotics, and other contraband like cigarettes.
Gold
According to the chapter in the report, India is the world's second-largest consumer of gold after China. India's gold imports were worth $34.62 billion in 2020-21 and rose 33.34 per cent to $46.14 billion during 2021-22. The quantum of smuggling has gone up during the period in which the economic activities were gradually unlocked post-COVID-related lockdowns.
