'Surveillance, awareness & coordination among agencies key to counter smuggling menace'

GURUGRAM: Maqsood Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Gurugram on Saturday said, "Activities like smuggling and counterfeiting are causing huge damage to the society and economy."

Addressing the FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) capacity building programme on 'Prevention of Counterfeiting and Smuggling for the police officers of Gurugram', Ahmed remarked that Gurugram has recently seen a spike in white collared crime hence increasing surveillance, creating awareness and coordination amongst law enforcement agencies are key to counter this menace effectively.

Deep Chand, Advisor FICCI CASCADE and Former Special Commissioner of Police, New Delhi said, "COVID-19 provided opportunity to criminals to exploit the current situation to find new ways to make money be it counterfeit or smuggled goods, fraud and cybercrime."

Applauding the enforcement officers, Chand added, "Even as the country is grappling with the Coronavirus crisis, the resolve of officers to protect infiltration of illicit goods surreptitiously into our market-places while maintaining law and order is indeed laudable. However, continued thrust of enforcement activity is essential to keep the offenders at bay." Dharamveer Singh, Asst. Commissioner of Police, Gurugram Police emphasized that how the increasing number of seizures may just be the tip of the iceberg of a much larger network and hence this calls for continued focus on tackling the widespread threat.

This capacity building programme aimed to sensitize the police officers to emphasize on the importance of continued awareness and seriousness of the impact of counterfeit and smuggled goods. It was emphasized that such illicit trading practices not only causes huge losses to the government and industry but is also causing significant economic and health & safety consequences for the society at large. This workshop was also helpful in sensitizing the officers about the relevant laws and procedures to be followed while dealing with the cases related to smuggling and counterfeiting. Discussions revolved around the collaborative role of police and industry in thwarting this menace.