NEW DELHI, Apr 9:
All international airports, ports and land borders in the country have been put on alert by the revenue intelligence agency to check circulation of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) and black money during ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the lead agency to check smuggling and import duty evasion, has asked customs officials posted at international transit points to remain extra vigilant during the Lok Sabha polls and keep a check on passengers and baggages coming from sensitive sectors including the Gulf, official sources said.
The alert was issued some time back following an input that there may be a spurt in smuggling of fake currency notes from abroad during the polls, they said.
There are 18 international airports in the country— Amritsar, Jaipur, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Nagpur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Goa, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kozhikode, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Port Blair.
Customs officials have been also asked to be alert at international transit land routes, including the Attari-Wagah border (Punjab) and Munabao Railway Station in Jodhpur (Rajasthan), among others, the sources said.
“Ports along the country’s coast lines bringing in cargo from other nations have also been alerted to keep a check on smuggling of fake currency notes and circulation of black money,” an official said.
The customs officials are also maintaining a strict vigil on frequent passengers to and from Gulf nations and South East sector (Malaysia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, among others).
Authorities here are also coordinating with the Customs
Overseas Intelligence Network (COIN) officers spread across Asia and other important nations to check flow of black money to India, the sources said.
The DRI alert to international airports has come after smuggling of FICN from abroad has shown an increase in the recent past.
The intelligence agency has found that neighbouring Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, among others, have fast emerged as new routes for smugglers to push Pakistan-printed fake currency notes, they said.
The DRI officials had during April 2013 and January this year registered five such cases with cooperation of authorities outside India and seized FICN with face value of Rs 15 lakh, the sources said.
Authorities and intelligence agencies including DRI, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) are keeping a strict vigil on movement of illegal money during the ongoing polls.
Counting of votes in Lok Sabha elections, which began from April 7, is scheduled to be held on May 16. (PTI)
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