To cater to this market various smuggling syndicates, vandalise archaeological sites and old temples in India to steal the antiquities and objects of art," the paper said.These stolen artefacts are then sold in Indian and international markets to earn huge profits, it said. Interestingly, the seizures of ganja and hashish have gone up significantly—from six tons in 2016 to more than 16 tons in 2017. "This indicates large scale use of these drugs on the Indian street," the agency noted. The DRI and other Customs formations arrested 176 persons during the past year in various operations to counter drugs smuggling.The smuggling syndicates are also plundering India's wildlife and scarce environmental resources. The agency has made several interceptions and prevented illicit trade in wildlife products and red sanders.

Source: Times of India December 04, 2017 18:11 UTC