Mobile applications pose serious challenge to intelligence agencies

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 19

Social networking mobile applications are posing a great challenge to Indian intelligence agencies as anti-national forces, including Indo-Pak smugglers, are using the same to their advantage.

According to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), smugglers based in rural belts were also using a large number of mobile applications now-a-days. They make voice calls or chat through smart phone applications in order to operate and run their network of smuggling. With change in technologies at a rapid pace, intelligence officials pointed out that it was difficult to decode and store huge data practically. “The 4G network has further worsened the situation as huge mobile numbers are issued on fake identities. Smugglers use the high-speed network even in the rural belts. This has made their (smugglers’) task easier and ours difficult. Agencies have to largely depend on sources at the ground level,” said an official preferring not to be named.

Zonal director, Narcotics Control Bureau, Dr Kaustubh Sharma, said, “There are many practical problems to deal with such messages. Though the Supreme Court has passed instructions to the government to devise some mechanism and weed out mobile numbers issued on fake identities, it is taking too much time.”

He said, “Despite all efforts, agencies are finding it difficult to track and fix suspects using mobile numbers issued on fake identities.” “Many a times, smugglers use mobile SIMs of the neighbouring country and we don’t have access to their servers,” he added. Meanwhile, the NCB has managed to control illegal sale of ayurvedic drugs, which have high opium content. The NCB is now scrutinising manufacturing companies, whose lables were found on drugs during raids recently.

Officials of the NCB have zeroed in on a company. Surprisingly, when the NCB got the credentials of the company checked through its Mumbai office, it was found to be fake. There was no such company at the given address.

Sharma said they had also instructed dealers and shopkeepers not to sell ayurvedic drugs without prescription.