He said that there is a need to find out who is sending the narcotics in bulk. She was speaking at a program organized on the occasion of the 65th Foundation Day of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
The Finance Minister said that the Revenue Intelligence Officers should try to take each case to its logical conclusion at the earliest. He said that surely the smugglers would leave some evidence on the basis of which the main culprit should be reached.
Sitharaman said, “You have to ensure that the smugglers are not more drivers than you. We need to work hard. It is not enough to catch someone with a pouch of narcotics or a kilogram of cocaine. Who is sending the mountain of narcotics into the country, who is funding it… and making it possible, has to be caught.”
His statement came in the backdrop of a huge haul of drugs being seized at Gujarat ports in recent months.
Last week, 143 kg of drugs worth about Rs 478 crore were seized in Gujarat.
He said that the news of seizure of narcotics by DRI also raises questions in the minds of the people as to how many of those arrested went to jail, and who is really behind it.
The Finance Minister said, “You are catching petty hawkers, smugglers, mules. Is it enough? This is not at all sufficient to gain public confidence. Are you able to catch the big handlers of such cases, who are behind the scenes.
He also suggested that the DRI officer should put more emphasis on international cooperation and global coordination to reach out to the main culprits.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
: Language Inputs
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