India to post two Customs intel officers in Beijing

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 24

As India has decided to place two officers in China in the Customs Overseas Intelligence Network (COIN) wing attached to the Indian embassy in Beijing, lead revenue intelligence agency DRI has set in motion the process of selecting suitable candidates for the job.

Sources in the agency said the Ministry of Finance has directed the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to initiate the process of selecting officer for placing two officers in China in the COIN wing of the embassy. They said the decision has been taken to post officers one each in the Indian embassy in Beijing and in the Consulate General of India at Guangzhou.

The DRI is the lead Indian agency to check customs frauds and smuggling by curtailing incidents of trade-based money laundering and other financial frauds originating from China, the officials said.

COIN officers are usually mandated to pass on intelligence or information gathered from their respective positing stations overseas to help Indian intelligence agencies, mainly the DRI, check trade-related frauds, the officials informed.

Noting that since a significant import and export is done between India and China, sources said, it was considered imperative to expand the snoop network to China. In the past, customs authorities in India have detected a few cases of smuggling to and from China, they added.

COIN officers have already been posted in several countries, including Nepal, Singapore, Brussels, the US and UK, to help Indian authorities check smuggling, sources said. A senior DRI official said the selection process involved concurrence by the Ministry of External Affairs and final approval by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Before that, an evaluation committee comprising heads of the DRI, Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (GSTI), National Academy of Customs (NAC) and Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) had been formed to evaluate the service records of officers concerned for the postings, an official said.

Keeping trade fraud in check

• One officer each will be deputed at Indian embassy in Beijing and Consulate General at Guangzhou
• They are mandated to pass on info to help Indian intelligence agencies, mainly the DRI, check trade-related frauds
• Customs Overseas Intelligence Network wing officers are already posted in countries such as Singapore, the US and UK