Global drug mafia targeting India need to be brought to book: FM tells DRI

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said there is a need for a greater coordination with global agencies to nab the global drug mafias and the big fish in smuggling targeting India.

Sitharaman said as of now we are catching the smaller operators while the big fish handling everything from remote is still at large. “Who are the big fish behind the drug racket? We are catching the peddlers, traffickers and mules. To gain public confidence that is not sufficient at all. To capture arrest and prosecute the smaller mules and carriers is important and necessary. But he is just a cog in the wheel. Are you able to bring the handlers behind such matters to face the law of the land?” Sitharaman said during the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence day celebrations.

Stressing on the need to bring the global drug mafias targeting India to the book, Sitharaman said, “Can there be a visible approach to bring to books the global mafia, who are sending and funding the mountain of prohibited drugs to the country. There is a need for greater access to international co-operation and co-ordination with the fellow global agencies on this.”