'Cocaine started coming into India': Nirmala Sitharaman warns officers, asks to up vigil
New Delhi/IBNS: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked enforcement agencies to spike up their vigil as smugglers, involved in drug trafficking are sending 'mountains' of illegal drugs into the country.
Sitharaman said cocaine and other psychotropic drugs have started coming into India and the agencies need to figure out if the country is becoming a consuming country.
Addressing the 65th Founding Day of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence here in the national capital, Sitharaman said: "DRI should make sure that smugglers are not smarter than you. Each one of these (smuggling) cases, at the earliest point of time, must come to the conclusion."
She directed the arrest and prosecution of the smugglers while ensuring that big handlers of such smuggling activities must face the law of the land.
"There is a need to work hard and catch that sending a mountain of drugs. Need to greater access to a bilateral agreement with foreign countries as technology has enabled us to do things which earlier was not possible," Sitharaman remarked.
The finance minister also made a suggestion to the DRI. She said that DRI, CBIC and Revenue department may start a two-day-long meeting to see global cooperation.
"Start a workshop with the cooperation of Intelligence agencies for better cooperation, get actionable intelligence to crack the smugglers," she said.
The finance minister said that India has got the Presidency of G-20 and the country must take this opportunity to organise a global meet where