The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Customs and domain experts recently carried out two crucial seizures of items possibly linked to missile, says the Smuggling In India Report 2019-20 of the DRI.
In the first case, an inter-agency coordination led to the interception of a consignment of chemical that could be used as missile propellant. The dual use chemical, wrongly declared as harmless, was transiting through India while being transported between two foreign countries.
As the chemical was notified in the Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technology (SCOMET) list of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, the consignment was seized under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act and the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act.
In the second case reported in February, an auto-clave, — a high-technology equipment possibly meant to be used in the missile programme of the destination State — was found concealed in the same bottom cargo of a ship transiting through India. The equipment was notified in the SCOMET list.
“Customs, through swift and targeted enforcement, intercepted the consignments and seized the suspect cargo. Such swift and targeted action in collaboration with other agencies and technical experts underscores DRI’s commitment to national security and its excellent track record in proliferation matters,” the agency said.
The seizures were made as part of the agencies’ Strategic Trade Control Enforcement (STCE) mandate, which has become an important dimension of national security. It refers to enforcing licensing provisions in trade of strategic goods like weapons of mass destruction or dual use goods which have both military and civilian applications.
“Being a signatory to the three of the four major export control regimes viz. the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Australia Group and a responsible member of the International community, it is contingent on India to make all possible efforts to ensure that its borders and trade is not used for proliferation and illegal trade in dual-use goods and technologies,” the report said.
