Directorate of Revenue Intelligence Seizes Over 7.8 Kilograms of Smuggled Foreign Gold and Arrests Six in Eastern India
Distilled Policy Brief
- Operations at Dankuni toll plaza, Malda Town railway station, and New Jalpaiguri railway station revealed the active use of road and rail networks to smuggle gold from border areas like Banpur and Tripura into Kolkata.
🎯 Prelims High-Yield Examination Points
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) recently seized over 7.8 kg of smuggled foreign-origin gold originating from the Bangladesh border through road and rail routes in West Bengal.
⚖️ Mains Analytical & Syllabus Linkages
Examine the challenges of cross-border smuggling along the Indo-Bangladesh border, the vulnerability of transit corridors like road and rail networks, and the role of intelligence agencies in curbing economic offenses.
🎯 UPSC Prelims Practice Drill
Consider the following statements regarding the recent operations conducted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in the Eastern region of India: 1. The operations revealed the active use of both road and rail networks to smuggle foreign-origin gold from border areas like Banpur and Tripura into Kolkata. 2. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence operates under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- [A] 1 only
- [B] 2 only
- [C] Both 1 and 2
- [D] Neither 1 nor 2
▶ Reveal Official Answer & Analytical Explanation
Statement 1 is correct because recent DRI operations in the Eastern region revealed that smugglers used road networks (intercepting a vehicle at Dankuni toll plaza coming from Banpur) and rail networks (at Malda Town and New Jalpaiguri railway stations coming from Tripura) to transport smuggled gold to Kolkata. Statement 2 is incorrect because the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) functions under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, not the Ministry of Home Affairs.
🏛️ Historical Twin PYQ Anchor (2021)
Consider the following statements regarding the "National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)": 1. It is implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 2. Central Pollution Control Board acts as the sole regulatory executive body.