In the past one year, Narcotics, NCB, Drug Raid have become household words with news channels live streaming drugs-related news into people’s drawing rooms. From big Bollywood stars to young celebrity kids… nobody has been spared, not even common folks. Although by now we are so familiar with NCB, there’s another department DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) which is doing similar work, but with less fanfare. This department has been seizing ‘charas’ and ‘ganja’, and gold, as well as crores of illegal money from peddlers, smugglers, and money laundering agents. In conversation with Indian Masterminds, senior DRI officer, Mr. Dinesh Bisen talked about the kind of work that his department does on the field.
DIRECTORATE OF REVENUE INTELLIGENCE
DRI is the apex intelligence and investigative agency that covers two principal acts – the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS) and the Customs Act, 1962.
“Under the NDPS act, all narcotics drugs such as cannabis, heroin, cocaine, etc. are covered. The gold and silver seizure comes under the Customs Act, the mandate of DRI under commercial fraud and anti-smuggling operations. We tackle the issues and seize the gold and silver coming into the country from outside, on its entry itself,” the 2008 batch IRS officer informed Indian Masterminds.
COMMERCIAL FRAUDS
In the case of commercial fraud, DRI handles the goods of import-export fraud or fraud evaluation.
Mr. Bisen explained, “Such misuse and fraud lead to huge loss of revenue. Both these Acts are linked with allied acts (Arms Act, Wildlife Act, Antique Act, etc.) and fall under DRI, and we take care of any kind of misuse or fraud happening in the country.”
The Agency collects all the information, analyzes it, evaluates it, collates it, disseminates it to other agencies, and acts on it.
GETTING TIP-OFFS
Established in 1957, DRI is one of the oldest agencies of the Government of India. To secure the national, economic, and environmental security of the Government, DRI receives information or ‘tip-offs’ regarding potential fraud or smuggling through human intelligence sources.
“Data comes to us from different sources or ‘mukhbir’ (spies), as our agency is well established in terms of information collected from internet sources, open sources, or human sources, which is then analyzed on the system and disseminated as information,” said Mr. Bisen.
FACING CHALLENGES
DRI being an intelligence and enforcement agency brings with it a number of challenges, as well. The biggest of them is handling a case in such a manner that no innocent gets punished.
“DRI has an invisible presence but gives visible results. Even though a case is booked and the investigation has started, the case should be solved in such a way that no innocent individual becomes a victim of collateral damage and gets punished. Similarly, we need to ensure that no illegal offender or smuggler is left to roam free and is put behind bars,” the officer said.
DRUG CONSUMPTION IN YOUTH IS RISING
Mr. Bisen feels that today, the biggest threat that society is facing is the consumption of illegal substances like cannabis, heroin, and cocaine by the younger generation.
“School-going kids and college-going youngsters are also consuming drugs now! This has increased in recent years. NCB and DRI are leading agencies that are tackling this menace. I firmly believe that this younger population should be protected in terms of health because this indirectly affects the economy of the country,” he asserted.
According to him, youngsters consume drugs ‘to lower their stress levels’ which comes from the extreme burden of societal pressure. Moreover, working parents are not able to monitor their child’s activities, which again often leads them astray.
Both DRI and NCB are playing important roles in curbing the menace of drugs in India. And for this, both need to get their share of the limelight.
