TRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZED CRIME:THE INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
Shankar Pratap Singh*
I. A BRIEF OVERVIEW
Today, a criminal considers the world
as his field of operation. He commits acrime in one country, deposits the money
derived from criminal activities in an
offshore bank in another country andtakes refuge in yet another country. The
widespread political, economic, social andtechnological changes as well as
variations in legislation, procedures andpolicies in different countries on mutual
assistance in crimina l ma tters havea ll o w e d o r g a n i z e d c r im e g r o u p s t ob ecome i ncreasingly act ive in th e
i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a . I nt e r n a t i o n a lcriminal organizations are taking fulla d va nta ge of glo b al i z a t io n o f w o rld
markets, dismantling of trade barriers,
the increased ease of international travel,
liberalized emigration policies, high-techcommunications equipment andsophisticated m oney laundering
techniques to enhance and further theircriminal efforts and to forge allianceswith other criminal groups. They are
engaged in such felonious activities as
illicit drug trafficking, money laundering,the use of violence and extortion, acts ofcorruption, trafficking in women andchildren, illicit manufacturing of andtrafficking in firearms, environmental
crime, credit card fraud, computer related
c r im e , il l e g a l t r a f f ic k in g o f s t o l e n
v e h i c le s, in d u s t ri a l e sp io n a g e a n d
sa b otage , m aritim e pira cy, etc. T he
problems raised by the current* Deputy

Inspector

Generalof

Police,Anti-

Co rru pti o n C el l I II , Ce nt ra l Bu re au o fInvestigation, India

570

acceleration of the globalization process
cannot be brought under control unlessva rious go vernments coordinate thestrategies and policies at the national
level with the strategies, policies andregulations issued at the international
level.
II. ORGANIZED CRIME—THE
INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
Criminal gangs have been operating inIndia since ancient times. There is nofirm da ta to indica te the num be r oforganized criminal gangs operating in the
country, their membership, their modus
operandi and the are as of their
op era tio ns. Tho usand s of o rganiz ed
criminal gangs operate in theco untryside. Their structure andleadership patterns may not strictly fallin the classical Italian Mafia module.
They may sometimes be operating inloose structures, but the depredations ofsuch criminal gangs are too well known tobe recounted. However, the purpose oforganized crime in India, as elsewhere in
the world, is monetary gain and this is
w ha t m akes i t a formi da bl e force i ntoday’s socio-political set up.
In India, organized crime is at its worst
in Mumbai, the commercial capital of thecountry. The first well-known organizedgang to emerge in recent times was thatof Varadharajan Mudaliar in the earlysixties. His illegal activities included
illicit liquor, gold smuggling, gambling,
extortion and contract murders. Threeother gangs emerged shortly thereafter,
namely, Haji Mastan (gold smuggling),

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
Yusuf Patel (gold smuggling) and Karim
L a la ( d ru g s m u gg li ng ) . D ur in g t h eemergency in 1975, when there was a
crackdown on the Indian Mafia, newgangs emerged. Dawood Ibrahim, themost successful, came in conflict with the
Pathan gangs of Alamzeb and Amirzada
w hich led to bitter internecine gangw arfare. The Patha n gangs w ere
liquida ted to leave the field free forDaw ood Ibrahim. In 1985, there wasincreased police pressure which madeDaw ood Ibrahim flee the country. In
March 1993, Dawood Ibrahim was behindthe serial bomb blasts in M umbai inwhich 257 persons died and 713 weremaimed. Public and private property
worth several million rupees wasdestroyed. Investigation revealed thetransnational character of the conspiracy,
the objective of which was to cripple theeconomy, create communal divide andspread terror in the commercial capital ofIndia. Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memona nd M oh a mm e d D o s a a r e pr ese nt l yreported to be operating from Dubai.
Their field of activity primarily extends toextorting money from builders and film
p ro duce rs, m ed iating in m on etaryd ispute s, a nd und erta k in g co ntra ct
k i l li n g s . T h e o t h e r m a j o r g a n g s o f
Mumbai indulging in organized crime arethose of Chhota Rajan (Drug Trafficking
and C ontra ct Killings) , A run Gawli(Contract Killings and Protection Money),
Late Amar Naik (Protection Money) and
Choota Shakeel.
Organized crime exists in other cities
too, though not to the same extent as in
M umb ai. There are several gangs
opera ting in D elhi from neighboring
S ta te o f Uttar Pra desh indulging in
kidnapping for ransom. Om Prakash
Srivastava, alias Babloo Gang of Uttar
P radesh, has been responsible fororganizing kidnappings in Delhi andMumbai in which ransom amounts were

paid in foreign cou ntries th rou gh“ Ha w a l a ”. L a nd M a fia ha s p ol i t i ca lconnections and ind ulges in land
grabbing, intimidation, forcible vacation,etc. Of late, the ganglords of Mumbai
have started using Delhi as a place forhiding and transit. Chhota Rajan group isstrengthening its base in Delhi.
Ahmedabad city has been a hotbed ofliquor Mafia because of a prohibition
policy (banning of liquor). The Mafia
became synonymous with the name of
Latif, who started in the mid-seventies asa small time bootlegger and grew up to
set up a 200 strong gang after eliminating
rivals with intim ida tio n, e xto rtion,
k id na p p in g s a n d m u r d e r s . H e w o nmunicipal elections from five different
constituencie s w ith strong po litica lpatronage. He was killed by the police inan encounter in 1997.
A boom in construction activities in
Bangalore city has provided a fertile
breeding ground for the underworld.
Builders are used for laundering blackmoney. Forcible vacation of old disputedbuildings is a popular side business forthe underworld. The local gangsters in
the State of Karnataka have connections
with the underworld of Mumbai. One of
the Mumbai gang operations here is the
Chhota Rajan gang.
Brief profiles of three majortransnational organized criminal groups
are as follows:
A. Dawood Ibrahim Gang
Dawood Ibrahim group is the mostdreaded mafia gang with countrywide
network and foreign connections. He has
stationed himself in Dubai since 1985 andhas indulged in drug and arm s
trafficking, smuggling, extortion andcontract killings. His brother Ane es
Ibrahim looks after smuggling, drugs and

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contract killings, Noora looks after film
financing and extortion; and Iqbal is incharge of the legitimate business which
includes stock broking in Hong Kong.
A nees is in legitima te b usiness to o,m ana ging the M ohd. A ne es Trad ing
Company in Dubai. His businessinterests in India are shopping centres,
hotels, airlines and travel agencies in
M umba i w it h a n a nnual turnover ofabout Rs.20000 million. Extradition ofo f f e nd e r s f r o m D ub a i h a s no t b e e npossible since there is no extradition
treaty with Dubai. Moreover, some ofthese offenders have strong social links
with politicians and other top
personalities in Dubai.
B. Chhota Rajan Gang
Chhota Rajan was a member of the
Dawood gang but parted company after
the 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai.
He raised his own gang in 1994–95 whichis reported to ha ve a membership ofseveral hundred persons today. Chhota
Rajan himself is in a foreign country to
avoid elimination by the Dawood gang.
His gang indulges in drug trafficking andcontract killings. In collaboration withanother local gang, he organized thekilling of a trusted leader of the Dawood
Ib ra him gang, Mr. S unil S amant, in
Dubai in 1995.
C. Babloo Shrivastava Gang
Om Prakash Shrivastava in Babloo
Shrivastava is facing 41 cases of murder,
kidnappings for ransom, etc. He wasarrested in Singapore in April 1995 on
the basis of a Red Corner Notice issued by
INTERPOL and extradited to India in
August 1995. He has since been in jail but
his gang continued to indulge inorganized kidnappings and killings. The
ransom amount is received by them infor eign cou ntries th r ou gh haw ala(alternative non-banking remittance572

channel). The power of this gang has
dwindled after his arrest.
III. ILLICIT DRUG TRAFFICKING
Illicit drug tra fficking is the m ost
significant transnational organized crime
wh ich ha s become a s eriou s iss ue
co nfronting both developing anddeveloped countries. In most countries,
despite years of drug suppression andprevention efforts, the cycle of drugtrafficking and drug abuse continues. If
allowed to remain unabated, the drug
menace will considerably destroy thequality o f life of peo ple a nd ha mper
countries in their social, economic andcultural development.
I nd ia i s a va s t c oun tr y w it h l a ndborders extending over more than 15000
kilometers and a sea coast line of over7000 kilometers. India’s narcotic problem
need s to be visualized from its
geographical situation. India is flanked
on either side by two regions which areinternationally acknowledged as major
sources of illicit opiates namely, SouthWest Asia (Afghanistan and Pakistan)and South-East Asia (Myanmar, Laos,
Thailand). Additionally, N epal, a
traditional producer of cannabis, bothherbal and resinous, fringes the country
in the North.
India is a traditional producer of licit
o p i u m f o r m e d i c in a l a n d s c ie nt i f ic
purposes. It is grown in three states,
namely, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan andMadhya Pradesh under official control of
Narcotics Commissioner. A part of thelicit opium enters the illicit market indifferent f orms. Although opium
production is strictly under Government
control in India, illicit poppy plantations
ha ve b ee n re p or ted in som e p la c es.
Besides, there is illicit cultivation ofopium in the hill tracks of some states.

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
Bangladesh. In the early eighties, theBorder State of Punjab became affectedwith narco-terrorism with the smugglingof narcotic drugs and arms from acrossthe border. This was also the time whenth e d ru g M a f i a e m e r g e d i n G o l d e n
Crescent countries.

India has a large presence of chemicalindustries producing precursor materials
like acetic anhydride, acetyl anthranilicacid, etc. for law ful purposes. Thesechemicals are also utilized for processing
and manufacturing heroin. The illicit
c ult ivat io n o f op iu m as w el l as th e
precursor chemicals can be used for them anuf a cture of hero in. For the last
several years, India has also become ab a se fo r the m anuf acture of heroin,particularly in and around the opium
producing districts of Uttar Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Although the use of India by the drug
tr af ficke rs a s a t ra ns i t country ha sresulted in an increase in drug abuse dueto the spill-over effect, drug addiction inIndia has not assumed such a serious
magnitude as in some of the westerncountries, but there are no grounds forcomplacency. There have been reports ofdrug use among the students ofuniversities in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta
and Chandigarh. Indian society is notagitated too much. It is customary insome places to consume Bhang (crushed
lea ves of the ca nnab is pla nt) on the
popular festival of Holi. There is no suchtolerance for charas or ganja which also
derived from the same cannabis plant.

The illicit drug trade in India has
centered a ro und f ive m ajor narcotic
substance s na m ely he ro in, ha shish,
opium ,
herbalcannabisandmethaqualone. The Indo-Pak border has
traditionally been the most vulnerable todrug trafficking. Drug trafficking throughIndia consists of hashish and heroin from
Pakistan, hashish from Nepal, whiteheroin from Myanmar and heroin from

1. Quantities of the most common drugs and precursors seized in India during theyears 1997 to 2000
Name of the drug/precursor

Quantities seized in kilograms
1997

1998

1999

2000

Opium

3,316

2,031

1,635

2,524

Morphine

128

19

36

37

Heroin

1,332

655

861

1,198

Ganja

80,886

68,221

40,113

94,682

Hashish3,281

10,106

3,391

4,923

Cocaine

24

1

1

0.08

Methaqualone

1,740

2,257

474

1,095

Acetic Anhydride

8,311

6,197

2,963

1,337

2. Details of significant seizures ofnarcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances made during 2001(i) On 5 January 2001, the Directorateof Revenue Intelligence, Amritsar

R eg io n a l U n i t s ei z e d 1 7 , 9 0 0 kg
heroin from a truck at octroi post.
The suspected source of the seizeddrug was Pakistan and it wasconcealed in three packets kept in a

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cabinet in a driver’s cabin and 15
packets in an LPG cylinder lying in
the tool box on the roof of the truck.
(ii) On 8 February 2001, the Narcotics
Control Bureau, Mumbai Zonal Units e iz e d 1 4 2 3 . 6 9 0 k g o f m a nd r a x
tablets from a truck at the premisesof M/s High Point Industries, MIDC,
Taloja.
(iii) On 17 April 2001, the Directorate of
Revenue Intelligence, New Delhi
seized 17.000 kg of heroin at
National Highway No.8, opposite
Shiva temple, Delhi-Gurgaon Road
when the occupants of two vehicles
were transferring the drug from one
vehicle to another. The suspectedso u rce o f t he s e iz ed he r o in w a s
South-West Asia.
(iv) In the first week of August, 2001, theDirectorate of Revenue Intelligence,N e w D e lhi se iz e d t w o t on ne s o fhashish from two godowns in
M o rd a b a d , n ea r D el h i . I t i s t h ebiggest ever seizure in Northern
India. The hashish was brought from
Nepal, wh ere it was processed
initially for over a period of 2 to 3
months. The bundles of 200 to 300
kgs of hashish were brought hiddenin a mini luxury bus over a period of
3 to 4 months, and stashed away in agodown in Mordabad. The bundles
were then covered in polythene bags,
wrapped with aluminum foils,
vacuum- pa ck ed a nd the bund les
shifted to another godown nearby.
The machine used in vacuum
packing was also recovered. A total of
4,000 packets, each containing 500
gms of hashish in cake form, wererecovered. The vacuum-packed
hashish concealed in packages ofhandicrafts was to be transported to
Mumbai docks and then shipped to
the United States.

574

The Government of India have taken
various legislative, administrative andpreventive measures to counter drugtrafficking in the country. Among theprominent legislative measures are theprovisions of deterrent punishment under
the NDPS Act, 1985 , a pplications ofpreventive detention of drug traffickers
un d e r t he C o ns e r va ti o n o f F o re ig n
Exchange and Prevention of SmugglingA c t iv i ti e s A c t , 1 9 7 4 ( C O F E P O S A ) ,notification of certain chemicals likeacetic anhydride as a ‘specified item’
under the Customs Act, 1962 and India’sland border with Myanmar falling within
the territories of the States of Arunachal
Pradesh, Nagaland , M anipur and
Miz oram h av ing been declared a s‘specified areas’ under the said Act for the
purpose of checking illegal trafficking
across the border. The creation of the
Narcotics Control Bureau as an apex
coordinating and enforcement agency at
the national level is one of the prominentadministrative measures taken by theGovernment.
The Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic
Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, which was
enforced with effect from 14 November
1985, provides for a minimum
punishment o f 10 years’ rigorous
imprisonment and a fine of one hundred
thousand Rupees extendable to 20 years
rigorous imprisonment and a fine of two
hundred thousand Rupees. In respect of
repeat offenses, the Act provides for thedeath sentence in certain circumstances.
In remaining cases, a minimum
punishment of 15 years rigorousi m p r i s o n m e n t a n d a f in e o f R s . 1 . 5
hundred thousand, which is extendable
up to 30 years rigorous imprisonment andfine of three hundred thousand Rupees.
The courts ha ve be en emp ow ered to
impose fines exceeding the above limits
f o r r e a s o n s to b e r e c o r d e d i n th e ir
judgments.

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
The N.D.P.S. Act also provides for:Constitution of a National Fund forControl of Drug Abuse to meet theexpenditure incurred in connection
with the measures for combating
illicit traffic and preventing drug
abuse.
(ii) Control over chemical substances
which can be used in the
manufacture of narcotic drugs andpsychotropic substances throughappropriate licensing and deterrent
punishment for violation thereof.
(iii) Total ban on suspension, remission
or commutation of sentences under
the penal provision.
(iv) Forfeiture of all illegally acquired
properties derived from or
attributable to illicit trafficking. All
enforcem ent agencie s ha ve b een
empowered to trace and freeze/seize
such property as are liable toforfeiture under the Act, subject toconfirmation within a period of 30days by the competent authority
appointed under this Act. The law
applies to all properties and assets oftraffickers acquired within a periodof six years immediately preceding
the date on which such a trafficker ischarged with an offense under thisAct.

and su p p o rti ng il le gal ac tiv itie s o forganized criminal groups.

(i)India is one of the few countries inwhich an adequately deterrent penal
system has been developed with regard to
drug trafficking. This is in conformity
with the UN Resolutions of 1961, 1971
and 1988 on Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances.
IV. ILLEGAL FIREARMS
TRAFFICKING
Firearms trafficking is a global
phenomenon and generally resorted to forgenerating profit, purchasing narcotics

In India, the states of Punjab which
w ere a ff ected by terrorist activitie s
during the 1980s and Jammu & Kashmir
have been particularly vulnerable toarms trafficking across the border. India
has a long border with Pakistan, Nepal,
Bhutan, China, Myanmar and
Bangladesh. The Border Security Force,
which guards the borders, continues toseize large quantities of AK Series rifles,
heavy machine guns, pistols andre v o lv e rs , r o c k et la u n ch e rs , ri f le s,magazines and ammunition.
In 1993, a consignment of AK-56 rifles,
magazines, live rounds and hand
grenades was sent from a Gulf country byland at the cost of Dighi Jetti in the Stateof Gujarat. Subsequently, huge quantities
of arms, ammunition and explosives weresm uggle d into Ind ia by sea route a t
Shekhadi in District Raigad. These wereused for bomb blasts in Mumbai on 12
March 1993, wh ich caused t error,
widespread damage, loss of 257 lives andmaiming of 713 persons. During
investigation, some of the arms recoveredin c l u d e d 6 2 A K - 5 6 r i f le s w it h 2 8 0
magazines and 38,888 rounds, 479 hand
grenades, 12 pistols of 9 mm make withammunition, 1100 electronic detonators,
2313 kgs. of RDX, etc.
The Police Authorities in the state of
Madhya Pradesh in central I ndia
recovered 24 AK-56 rifles, 5250
cartridges, 81 magazines and 27 hand
grenades on 4 November 1995.
On 17 February 1996, Delhi Police
recovered 361 pistols of 0.30 caliber withth e i n sc r i p ti o n “ M a d e in C h i n a b y
Norinco”, 728 magazines and 3738 live
rounds in a cavity in the undercarriage ofa caravan bus. In this ca se, a S w iss

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
national and an Iranian national living inPakistan since 1981, were detained andthe investigation disclosed that this infact was the second consignment, the first
one having been successfully smuggled
into India in 1995. 22 persons including
five foreign nationals have beenprosecuted in the court of law in this case.
A sensational case called the Purulia
arms drop case was an example of illicit
arm s traf ficking by air. On 17th
December 1996, an Antonov 26 aircraft
dropped over 300 AK47/56 rifles and20,545 rounds of ammunition, dragnov
sniper weapons, rocket launchers andnight vision devices in Purulia village inWest Bengal. The aircraft was boughtfrom Latvia for US$2 million andchartered by a Hong Kong registeredcompany Carol Airlines. Payments weremade mostly from foreign bank accounts.
The aircraft picked up a consignment ofa rms from Bulga ria using end-users
c e rt if ic ate iss ue d by a n e igh b o ri ng
country. The arms were airdropped overPurulia in the state of West Bengal.
This ca se was investigated by theCentral Bureau of Investigation and acharge she eted in the City Sessions
Court, Calcutta. After trial, the court
f ound the a ccused p ersons guilty o foffenses under the Indian Penal Code,Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act,
Explosives Act, and the Aircraft Act andsentenced Mr. Peter James Gifran Van
Kalkstein Bleach (British National), Mr.
Alexander Klichine, Mr. Igor Moskvitine,
Mr. Oleg Gaidash, Mr. Evgueni
Antimenko, Mr. Igor Timmerman (allLatvian nationals) and Mr. Vinay Kumar
Singh (Indian national) to various termsof rigorous imprisonment on 2 February
2000.

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V. HUMAN (WOMEN AND
CHILDREN) TRAFFICKING
Emigration of human beings from one
country to another for trade, commerce,
religious and other purposes is as old as
human civilization itself. However, theword ‘traffic in human beings’ implies
illegal movement of people from one
country to another in violation of existingna ti o na l la w s a n d p r o c e d ur e s . T h e
countries of the West have become highly
vulnerab le on this count as they are
attracting hoards of illegal emigrants
mainly because of their relative economicp ros pe rity . I llite rate , inno ce nt andgullible persons from under developed
and developing countries, in their urge toearn m ore money from overseas
emplo yment, fall easy prey tounscrupulous and unauthorised agents.
Such activities in India have turned intoa lucrative business as the agents induce/
make the immigrants part with large
sums of monies towards theircommission/service charges, expenses onjourneys as well as for arranging
passports, visas and statutory clearance.
Often the travel documents are not validand sometimes they are simply dumped
into foreign lands without giving thempromised employment.
I nd i a h a s al so b ee n sign if ic antl yaffected by such immigrants. India isfound to be both the country of origin anddestination for trafficking in women.
According to intelligence reports, about1200 thousand em igrants from
Bangladesh have settled in the borderStates of West Bengal and Assam after
independence. The problem, however, hasspread as far wide as Mumbai, Rajasthan
and Delhi, which have an estimated 300
thousand emigrants from Bangladesh.
Similarly, a large number of Indians areworking abroad, particularly in the Gulf
region. A number of young girls from

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
southern India have been sent to the Gulf
countries. There have also been reportsthat India has served as a transit point
for trafficking of young virgins from
Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh to theMiddle East, mostly Dubai.
An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 Nepali
girls are annually sold into brothels in
India for prostitution. According to ap re ss re p o rt, 9 N ep a le se gir ls age d
between 14 and 25 years, were rescued at
Nepal-India border point at Kakarbhitta
in Eastern Nepal in September, 2000.
The rescued girls said that they were
lured by the agents on the pretext ofgetting them married or obtaining jobs
for them in India. According to anotherpress report, the Nepal police arrested
one Dhan Bahadur Gurung in November,2000 on charges of selling more than 300
women and girls. He is accused of luring
them into prostitution by falsely
p rom isin g m ar ria ge a nd job s in th e
circus e s i n I nd ia . In ea rly 2 0 0 1 , a nemigration racket, in which a nexus ofpolicemen deployed at the Hyderabad
airport and travel agents facilitated morethan 3,000 people sneaking out on fakepapers, came to light when nearly 40
women mostly illiterate were being sent
to the Gulf countries from Hyderabad
airport on fake papers.
Paedophiles now have a titillating new
tool—the Internet. It allows them toa ccess p ornogra phic p hotogra phs o fchildren, enter their homes, and ‘groom’them for rape. The first case of
paedophilia appears to have come to lightin India in April, 1991 when the police
raided the house of Father Freddy Peat,
who had been running an orphanage in
G oa, a nd recovered drugs and 2 ,3 05
photographs of children forced into sexualacts. Peat was arrested and later
sentenced for life. It is believed that
copies of a large num ber of pictures

seized from Peat in 1991 have made their
way onto the Web.
On December 16, 2000, a Swiss couple
William and Loshier Marty, who werepart of an international paedophile racket
with operations in the West, Thailand,
Sri Lanka and India were arrested at aresort in Madh Island, Mumbai with twominor gir ls. Acco rding to the po lice
sources, photos of the couple’s victims—
some as young as seven—were supplied
to paedophiles rings and were also postedon the Web. The internet has facilitatedthe organization of paedophiles, who can
now easily down load pictures, forward
them to friends, enter chat rooms andpick out targets and eventually lure theminto a meeting.
Another site came into the focus of
CBI’s Cyber Crime Investigation Cell
during routine surfing. The site sold itself
as a platform for those who would like tobuy or sell sex slaves. In business since1998, it offered members a sickening
variety of slaves: virgin, black, teen,
pregnant and more. A membership fee
could be waived if a person tortured aslave and sent in photographs. The CBI
set up a decoy customer and were
promptly offered a teenage girl. The site’s
pimp was learnt to be operating fromcybercafes in Delhi. At the last minute,however, he backed out of the deal andremained untraceable.
India’s first case of child porn on the
Net came to notice last year. The site inquestion had a deceptively innocent
homepage. But persist with the links andthe site brought out 27 files with titles
such as “Little bitches on the beach” and“All in the family”. By paying a little more
one could watch the “VIP series” andcustomized videos. Most of the girls
featured were under 10 and South Asian.
Investigation reveals that the site was

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created in Lima, Peru. But its domain
server was being provided by Arvind
Shyam Jagdam from Hyderabad. Jagdam
was arrested in September, 2000.
Information was sought from Peru police
but the response is still aw aited. Anintere sting fact revealed during
investigation was that the naked children
shown on the site were missing from theirhomes.
Child-porn sites showcase India as apaedophile’s paradise. However, mostIndians still discount child porn on the
net as a western perversion. Paedophilia
and more so its prevalence online is still
not a priority crime for the police in India.
The Indian mind set is such that few are
willing to accept that their children canbe at such risk.
India has sufficient legislation to deal
eff ectively with the problem ofSuppression of Immoral Traffic as well as
ille gal e migra tio n out o f Ind ia . T he
S u p p r e s si o n o f I m m o r a l T r a f f i c i n
Womens and Girls Act, 1956 to deal withthese offenses, was re-enacted under thename of Immoral Traffic (Prevention)
Act, 1986 to rectify some lacunae in theearlier Act.
The National Commission for Women
review s la ws, conducts inq uirie s for
red ressal of complaints, undertakes
promotional research for policies, advises
the Government and ensures custodial
justice for wom en. The C om mission
enjoys the powers of a Civil Court byv ir t u e o f S e ct io n 1 0 ( 4 ) o f N a t io n a lCommission for Women Act, 1992. It hasformed an Expert Committee and has
formulated a 10-year National Plan of
Action (1997–2006) to coordinate with the
9th and 10th Indian Five Year Plans.
The la w r elating to em igra tion o fcitizens of India was consolidated and578

amended by enacting the Emigration Act,
1983 which repealed the earlier Act of1922. In order to protect and aid, witha d v i c e , a l l in te n d i n g e m ig r a n t s , aprovision was made for the appointmentof a Protector-General of Emigrants andProtector of Emigrants by the Central
Governm ent. The Act prohibits a
recruiting agent to commence or carry on
the business of recruitment except under,
and in accordance with, a certificate
issued on that behalf by the ProsecutorGeneral of Emigrants or any other officer
notified as registering authority underthe Act. It further prohibited an employer
to recruit a ny citizen of In dia for
employment in a ny country or placeoutside India except through a recruiting
agent competent under the Act to makesuch recruitment or in accordance with avalid permit issued on this behalf underthe Act.
The Act provides for a punishment of
imprisonment for a term which may be
extended to two years and with a fine
wh ic h m a y e x te nd t o t w o th ou sa nd
r u p e e s f o r c o n tr a v e n i n g t h e a b o v eprovisions or collecting, from anemigrant, any charges in excess of theli m i t s p r e s c r ib e d un d e r t h e A c t o rcheating any emigrants, etc. All offenses
und er t he Em igrat io n A ct, 1 9 83 are
cognizable.
V. MONEY LAUNDERING
Crime pays and criminals naturally
want to be able to enjoy their profits
without worrying about the police or the
courts. This is not a new economic orsociologica l pro blem . Ho w ever, ge opolitical developments over the past 50
years together with economic
g lo b a l i z a t i o n h a v e m e a n t th a t t h einternational movement of money has
increased. The rapid expansion ofinternational financial activity has gone

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
hand-in-hand with the development oftransnational crim e, which takes
a d v a n t a g e o f p o l it ic a l b o r d e rs a n d
exploits the differences between legal
systems in order to maximise profits. The
gro ups involved are genuinely
multinational and pose a direct threat tot h e f in a n ci a l s t a b i li ty o f e c o n o m i csystems. They destabilise democracy
because they are backed by clandestinen e t w o r k s s u b je c t to th e la w o f t h eunderworld.
Money laundering cannot bedisassociated from other forms of crime.
It is a fact that it thrives on corruption.
Corrupt people use financial techniques
to hide their fraudulently obtained assets
and the continued successful applicationo f th ese tec hniq u es d ep e nd s on th e
involvement of influential accomplices.
Money laundering is therefore at thecentre of all criminal activity, because itis the common denominator of all othercriminal acts, whether the aim is to makeprofits or hide them.
Laundering operations are, in fact,
intended more to conceal the origin of themoney than its criminal nature, in otherwords to hide the traffic from which it isderived rather than the general criminal
activity which actually generated it. It istherefore essential to move the money inorder to scramble the route it takes. The
operation is wholly successful when thenature of the money is also concealed and
it is impossible to establish a link withany criminal activity because thed i f f e r e n t c ir c u its t a k e n gi ve it t h eappearance of legitimate income.
T he I n d i a n “ H a w a l a ” o r “ H u nd i”
system can be explained as a transfer ofm on ey thr ough unof f icia l ch ann els,
normally outside the banking channels
used by b usinessmen. The mone y sotransferred often includes the money

derived from criminal activities or in
violation of the country’s legislation.
Underground banking which conveys asense of a system may not strictly covermisuse of banking channel. It may refer
to, in a restricted manner, a system ofrendering services which are similar tobanking services, the most important inthis context being the transmission ofmoney. Hawala represents such services.
As a developing nation, India feels
seriously concerned not only becausemoneylaundering,
includingcompensatory payments known as
HAW ALA tr ansactions, have been
threatening the economy but also becausesuch practices contribute to the country’s
illicit drug trafficking and terrorist andsubversive activities leading to large
scale violence.
Of la te, an im p re ssio n is gaining
ground that I ndia is be coming
increasingly vulnerable to money
laundering activities and is becoming atransit point for drug traffickers andother criminals from the Golden Crescenti.e. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran and
the Golden Triangle i.e. Burma, Thailandand Laos. The Economic Intelligence
Council meeting of August, 1993 also
observed that money laundering is now amajor issue and has become a means offinancial clout and strength of economic
offenders and drug traffickers. India is
fast becoming a conduit for the South
East, Middle East, Far East and Latin
American countries. The Indian hawalasystem or underground banking is used
extensively fo r d rug tra fficking andre m i tta nc e s o f m o n e y by bo th no n resident Indians and resident Indians.
In 1992–93, there were press reports
on t he U .S . Sta te D epart ment ’s
investigations into the possible use ofIndian Banking Channels for laundering

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
drug money, including the possibility oflinks with the securities irregularities of1992. An article in the London Times ofMay, 1993 had suggested that India,
more specifically Bombay, was attracting
huge amounts of Narcotics money fromdrug cartels in Columbia.
There were also, in 1994, reports in thepress that the private sector in India ismaking its presence felt in the area ofquick transfer of cash across continents.
Travel agents and courier companies aretargeting Indians living abroad who want
to repatriate money. As no minimum/
maximum limits are prescribed, the time
taken to transfer money is much less. As
such private companies do not fall within
the direct control of the banking system,
it could perhaps lead to the facility being
used by money launderers, though there
is no such case reported so far.
The high tax rate and the Exchange
C ontrol Regulations (though now
considerably liberalised) have been them ajor rea sons for ha wa la a nd othereconomic crimes in India. The Indian
hawala system or underground banking
is used extensively for drug trafficking
and remittances of money by both nonresident and resident Indians. It is the
Hawala where the economic offenders
and the launderers meet. These offenders
easily become prey for money launderers,
or it can be said that these offenders on
the one side and the money launderers on
the other side close the circle.
In India, money laundering is also
indulged in by some corporate houses toevade taxes as well as by the organizedcriminal groups to launder dirty money.
Money laundering techniques include
smurf ing, establishment of front
companies, acquisition of commercial andnon-commercial properties, remittances
through Hawala (non-banking channels),

580

over- invo icing and double invoicing
legitimate business and foreign
remittances. Non-resident Indians havebeen given some special banking
facilities. These facilities are misused tobring back the money as white money.
For example, a portfolio account is opened
in a foreign country and the money islaundered back to be invested in the stock
markets. Another modus operandi is tolaun der th e money thr ough bogu sexports. The conversion of black money isdone b y over-invoicing the products.
Some shell companies are setup to issue
bills or invoices accompanied by bogustransport receipts in order to obtainfunds against these documents frombank/financial institutions and thendivert major parts of such proceeds by
issuing cheques in the names of none xist en t f ro nt c o m p a nie s o f ch e q ue
discounters. The cheque discounters thenhand over cash immediately to the party
after deduction of their commission. The
cheque discounte rs are generally
associated with commodities markets
where fake transactions in commodities
can largely go unnoticed. The chequediscounters also issue fake Letters of
C r e d it a n d f a l s e b il l s . T h e c h e q u e
discounters file income tax returns in
w h ic h t h e c o m m i ss i o n i s s h o w n a s
taxable income.
Money laundering per se has not been
made a criminal offence in India so far.
Certain activities like diversion of funds,
submitting false statements relating toinventories, multiple financing etc. which
could serve as means towards the end ofmoney laundering are also not consideredas crimes. The problem had so far been
dealt with mainly under the Foreign
Exchange Regulation Act, 1973, but witheffect from June 2000, FERA has been
replaced by the Foreign Exchange
Maintenance Act. A bill to enact a money
laundering la w to b e na med ‘The

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
Prevention of Money Laundering Bill’ hasbeen introduced in Parliament by theGovernment of India but the same still
remains to be enacted as law. Moneyla un d e r ing ha s b e e n p ro p o s e d a s acognizable crime punishable withrigorous imprisonme nt of 3 – 7 ye ars
which could be extended to 10 years and afine of up to Rs. 0.5 million. Thea cq uisition, possession or ow ning o fmoney, movable and immovable assets
from crime, especially from drug andnarcotic crimes, would be tantamount tom o n e y la u nd e r in g . C o nc e a lm e nt o f
information on proceeds or gains from
crime made within India or abroad is
proposed to be an offence. An
adjudicating authority is proposed which
would have powers to confiscatep rop erties of mo ney la und ere rs. A n
a d m i nis t ra t o r m a y b e a p p o i n t e d t o
m a n a g e t h e c o n f is c a t e d a s se t s . A nappellate tribunal is proposed to be set up
with three members to hear appeals fromthe orders of the adjudicating authority.
The rulings of the adjudicating authority
would thus not be contestable in the local
courts. Fin ancial in stit uti on s are
expected to maintain transaction records
and furnish these to the adjudicatinga uthority. Fa ilure to do so would b epunishable too.
However, at present, there is certain
legislation to deal with such offenders.
Such legislation is specifically intended todeprive offenders of the proceeds andbenefits derived from the commission of
offences against the laws of the country.
Besides, such legislation also provides forthe con fisca tio n or fo rfe itur e o f theproceeds or assets used in connection
with the commission of certain crimes. In
the offences relating to narcotic drugs
and psychotropic substances inparticular, the very act of acquisition ofproperty derived from or used in illicit
trade and in relation to which

proceedings for forfeiture have b een
initiated has been made punishable, also
as a distinct offence (Sec. 68-Y of NDPS
Act, 1985).
To deprive persons of the proceeds andbenefits derived from the commission of
an offence against the law of the land
including forfeiture or confiscation ofsuch property, Indian legislation also
include the following Acts:(i)

Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 1944;(ii) Customs Act, 1962 (Secs. 119 to 122);(iii) Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
(Sec.452);(iv) Smugglers & Foreign Exchange
Manipulators (Forfeiture of Property)
Act, 1976;(v) Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic
Substances Act, 1985 (Secs. 68-A to68-Y);(vi) In addition, Indian statutes also
contain provisions for preventive
detention of fo reign exchange
racketeers under the Conservation of
Foreign Exchange and Prevention of
Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA)
Act, 1974, and of the drug traffickers
under the Prevention of Illicit Trafficin Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances (PITNDPS) Act, 1988.
In one of the cases of money laundering
dealt with by the Central B ureau of
Investigation, an organized group of
Hawala dealers operating from London
and Dubai used to receive remittancesfrom foreign banks for transferring thesame to India. A telephonic message incoded words would be passed to agents in
India to pay money in Indian currency.
The remittances so received by the above
mentioned persons in Dollars or Pounds
Sterling at London and Dubai were used
fo r purchase o f gold, drugs, ar ms,
ammunitions and explosives through the581

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
underworld. The arms, ammunitions andexplosives were used to be smuggled into
I n di a a n d s ol d t o v a rio u s c ri m i n a l /terrorist groups while the drug used to be
distributed to the traffickers.
VII. CYBER CRIME
The exponential growth of computerrelated crime commensurate with theincreasing dependence of computers ino ur d a y- to -d a y live s ha s po se d ne w
c h a l le n g e s to t he l a w e n f o r c e m e n t
a gencies in India. With the physicalgrowth of the Internet over the past few
years, a number of new generation crimes
affecting the LAN, WAN and Internet
have created extraordinary situations.
Hacking, computer network breaches,
copyright piracy, software piracy, childpornography, password sniffers, credit
card frauds, cyber squatting are some of
the new terms in the average criminal
investigator’s d ictionary. Highly
intelligent persons commit these newgeneration crimes leaving hardly any
trace and making investigation highly
difficult and complicated. Recently, one oft he h u rd le s i n t he i nv e s tig a t io n o fcomputer-related crimes in India wasovercome by the enactment of legislationin the form of the Information Technology
A ct, 20 0 0, w hich cam e into force on
October 17, 2000.
The Act delineates two separate typesof penal provisions: contraventions andinformation technology offences. Whilec o nt r a v e n ti o n r e su l ts i n m o n e t a r ypenalty, the IT offences may result in theoffender being imprisoned or paying afine or both. Tampering with computersource codes, obscenity, ha cking,u na uth o ri z e d a cc e ss t o a p r o te ct e dsystem, misrepresentation before
authorities, breach of confidentiality andprivacy, publication of false particulars indigital signature certificates, etc. have582

been listed as criminal offences under
this Act. Amendments have also been
made to the Indian Penal Code, Indian
Evidence A ct, the Bankers’ Book
Evidence Act and Reserve Bank of India
A c t to f a c i l it a t e i n v e s t i ga t i o n a n dprosecution of cyber crime.
The Central Bureau of Investigation
has recently crea ted a Cyb er C rime
Research & Development Unit which
maintains close liaison with international
agencies like the FBI, Interpol and otherforeign police agencies to share skills andtechniques in investigating cyber crimes.
The officers of CBI associated in thisexercise share their expertise with theState police fo rces through regio na ltraining programmes held periodically.
VIII. CURRENCY
COUNTERFEITING
Currency counterfeiting is one of theorganized white collar crimes which has
assumed serious proportions globally. It
not only causes serious setbacks to theworld’s economy but also jeopardizes thegenuine busine ss transactions.
Nowadays, the counterfeiting of currency
notes is done with the help of modern
eq uip me nt such as co lo ur scanne rs,
colour copiers and printers, as well as byof f se t p ro c ess. M ost o f the se cur ity
features are copies from genuine notes byusing modern techniques to produce thecounterfeit currency notes very close togenuine currency notes. For achieving there quired finish in the art ofcounterfeiting, the advance computer
technology provides them withsophistication and perfection.
There has bee n a n up surge in theincidents of supply of counterfeit Indiancurrency notes from across the border ofIndia especially from the Indo-Pakistan
border and Indo-Nepal border. During

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERSt he year 199 9, c oun ter feit In di an
currency notes valued at Rs.18.4 million
were seized as compared to Rs.6.5 milliond u r in g 1 9 9 8 in d ic a tin g a th r e e f o l dincrease. During the year 1999, the three
States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West
Bengal accounted for almost 40% of thetotal seizures. There are two recent casesof recovery of counterfeit Indian currency
notes which have internationalramifications:(i)

In January, 2001, the Uttar Pradesh
Police, with the arrest of a suspected
ISI agent, identified as Abal, from
Muzaffarnagar District, busted agang responsible for circulating fakecurrency notes across Western Uttar
Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan
and Punjab. Currency notes worth
Rs.17,000/- in the denominations of
Rs.500/- and Rs.100/- were seizedfrom Abal.
(ii) In March, 2001, the Mumbai Police,in one of the biggest hauls, seizedcounterfeit currency notes worth
Rs.15 million in two separate cases.
Ten persons linked to a Dubai-basednotorious ISI agent Aftab Batki, werearrested. The counterfeit notes wereof R s.5 00/- den omi nati on . Th e
consignment had arrived from Dubai
by air a couple of weeks ago. The
notes w ere concea led in w ater
dispensers and TV sets. After being
smuggled into Mumbai, these werehanded over to the Dawood gangsters
for circulation. The interrogation of
the arrested accused revealed thatthey worked for Aftab Batki. The
police recovered from them a
sep arate consignm ent o f fakecurrency notes worth Rs.9 million
m e ant to be sup p lied to c er tain
businessmen in Mumbai.
India, as a signatory to the Geneva
Convention, 1929, is committed to extend

full cooperation to all other countries foreliminating or containing to the furthest
extent possible, the counterfeiting ofdomestic as well as foreign currencies.
Indian laws and enforcement measures
are in full conformity with the principles
laid down in the Convention. The Indian
Penal Code provides for punishment oflife imprisonment or imprisonment for up
t o 1 0 y e a r s f o r c o u n t e r f e i t in g a n ycurrency note or bank note, using as
genuine, forged or counterfeit currency
no te s o r ban k n o te s and m a k ing or
possessing instruments or materials forforging or counterfeiting currency notes.
I t a ls o p r o v id e s f o r p u n is h m e n t o f
imprisonment up to 7 years for possessionof forged or counterfeit currency notes orba nk no tes. The m ak ing o r using of
documents resembling currency notes orbank notes is also an offence punishable
with a fine. The investigation of cases
involving counterfeit currency is done byspecially trained staff of the State Police.
At the national level, the Central Bureau
of Investigation has created a separate
unit to ta ke up the inve stiga tion of
offences of counterfeit currency whichhave inter-state or internationalramifications.
IX. SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVETOOLS TO COMBATTRANSNATIONAL ORGANIZEDCRIMEThe use of traditional investigative
methods to combat transnationalorganized crime has proved to be bothve r y d if f i cu lt a n d in e f f e c t iv e . T hi s
demands that law enforcement agencies
utilise special investigative tools such as
controlled delivery, undercover
operations and electronic surveillance(wiretapping,
communications
interception etc.) to effectively fighttransnational organized crime. However,the use of these tools are often

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
surrounded with controversy because
there is always public fear that theym ig h t i nf r i ng e o n h u m a n r i gh t s t oprivacy or are likely to be misused by thegovernment to oppress citizens.
A. Controlled Delivery
Controlled delivery techniques have
proven an important enforcement tool in
identifying the principles involved in
drug trafficking and other major
smuggling offences. It is particularly
important in countering the criminal
activities of drug traffickers who, by theuse of couriers, creation of f alse
documents and other deceptive practices,
carefully disassociate themselves and try
to be remote from the drug trafficking
operations.
The United Nations Conference for the
adoption of a Convention against illicit
traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropicsu bstances h as defined controlled
delivery as follows:“Controlled delivery” means thete chni q ue o f a l l ow in g i l li c it o rsuspect consignments of narcotic
drugs, psychotropic substances,
substances in Table-I and Table-IIan nex e d t o t hi s C on ve nt io n, o r
substances substituted for them, topass out of, through or into theterritory of one or more countries,
with the knowledge and under thesu p e r vi s i o n o f t he i r c o m p e t en t
authorities, with a view to
identifying persons involved in thecommission of offences establishedin a ccordance with Article 3,
paragraph-1 of the Convention.”
Further, Article 11 of the Convention,
covering controlled delivery, reads asfollows:

584“1 . If perm itted by th e b asicprincip les of their respective
domestic legal systems, the Parties
shall take the necessary measures,within their possibilities, to allow
for the appropriate use of controlled
delivery at the international level,on the basis of agreemen ts or
arrangements mutually consented
to, with a view to identifying persons
involved in offenses established inaccord an ce wi th Article 3,
paragraph 1, and to taking legal
action against them.
2. D ecis ions to use c on tr olle ddelivery shall be made on a case-bycase basis and may, when necessary,take into consideration financial
arrangements and understandings
with respect to the exercise ofjurisdiction by the Parties
concerned.”
Section 4 of the Indian Narcotic Drugs
and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
provides:1. Subject to the provisions of this Act,
the Central Government shall take allsuch measures as it deems necessaryo r e x p e d ie n t f o r t h e p u r p o s e o fpreventing and combating abuse ofna rc ot ic dr ugs a nd p sych o tro pic
substances and the illicit traff ic
therein.
2. In particular and without prejudice tothe generality of the provisions ofsubsection (I), the measures which
the Central Government may takeunder that subsection include
measures with respect to all or any of
the following matters, namely:a. ..............
b. Obligations under the International Conventions;c. Assistance to the concerned
authorities in foreign countries

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
a n d c o n c e r n e d i n te r n a t io n a lo r ga ni sa tio n s w it h a vi e w t o
f a c ilitati ng c o or d ina tio n an duniversal action for prevention
and suppression of illicit traffic innarcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances.
The above provisions thus enable thedrug law enforcement agencies in India to
use the controlled delivery technique asan effective tool of investigation againstorganized syndicates, nationally andinternationally. However, before adopting
this technique, the originating country
and the recipient country should discussin detail the entire operation, maintainsurveillance simultaneously in both thecountries, keep close surveillance on the
movement of drugs either through cargoor through couriers, and time the final
strike operation simultaneously in botht h e c o u n tr ie s t o a c hi e v e m a x im um
re sults. I t will also be ne cessary toauthenticate the evidence gathered inboth the countries for successfulprosecution of the traffickers.
In India, the Narcotics Control Bureau,
the nodal agency for enforcement of laws
concerning narcotic drugs andpsychotropic substances, has undertaken
controlled delivery operations with anumber of countries from time to timeb o t h o n i t s o w n in i t ia ti v e o r w h e nsuitable cases are brought to its notice byother enforcement agencies.
The operation of controlled delivery isvery difficult and comp licated,
p a rticular ly whe n it invo lve s m a ny
countries and there is a difference intheir legal systems and practices. In
using this technique, there is always afear that the consignment of illicit drugs
may be lost d uring transit. The
u n if o r m ity o f l e g is la t io n a nd cl o s ecooperation amongst the law enforcementa g e n c ie s o f d i f f e r e n t co un t ri e s a r enecessary make this technique effective.
B. Electronic Surveillance
E le c t r o n i c s u r v e i ll a n c e c o v e r s
wiretapping, communications interception,etc. Te le phone interce ptio n and them o n it o r in gofa lle le c t r o n i ccommunications are the most controversial
aspects of electronic surveillance. Yet thesea r e v e r y u s e f u l i n a ss i s t i n g l a w
enforcem e nt agencies to com bat
tr ansnatio nal organize d crime .
Wiretapping or telephone interception isdefined simply as the interception of atelephone conversation between parties
without their knowledge, using equipmentthat is inserted into the electronic circuit
between the transmitter and the receiver.
In India, interception of messages,
transmitted or received by any telegraphis covered under subsection 2 of section 5of the Indian Telegraphic Act, 1885, when
it is necessary or expedient to do so in theinterests of the sovereignty and integrityof India, the security of the State, friendly
relations with a foreign country or for
preventing incitement to commission of
an offence. The issue of constitutional
validity of this provision came under
scrutiny of the Supreme Court of India ina writ petition filed by the People’s Union
for Civil Liberties. The Supreme Court
passed a judgment on 18th December,
199 6, up h o ld i ng th e co n st itu ti o na lvalidity of the Act but laid down certain
guidelines prescribing that the order forinterception will be issued by the Home
Secreta ries at the Centre and in theStates. A copy of the order should be sent
to the Review Committee within a week.
The order will cease to have an effectafter two months unless renewed. The
Review Committee will review the order
passed by the authority concerned within
two months of the passing of the order.

585

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 59
The total period shall not exceed six
months.
The Government of India has made alegal provision in the licensing conditions
f o r m u la te d a lo n g w it h t he c e ll ul a r
operators to make it mandatory on thepart of the cellular companies to provide
p aralle l mo nito ring f acilities fo r a ll
co mm unica tio ns b eing rec eived a nd
emanating from a particular mobile set.
C ellular operators opera ting in four
metropolitan cities of Mumbai, Kolkata,D e lh i an d C he n na i ha ve m a d e th isfacility available whereas others arebound to provide this facility within threeyea rs of the initia tion of the mob ile
network.
C. Undercover Operations
The law enforcement agents, throughu n d e r c o v e r o p e r a t io n s , a r e a b l e t oinfiltrate the highest levels of organizedcrime groups by posing as criminals whenreal criminals discuss their plans andseek assistance in committing crimes. In
India, there is no legislation or
regulations to undertake undercover
operations.
D. Immunity Systems
Im munity re fers to the proce ss o f
exempting from prosecution a co-accused,in order to maximise the potential ofw itn ess co-operati on as a tool for
combating transnational organized crime.
The testimony of a person, who is party toa crime is very reliable because of his
relationship to any co-accused. During
investigation, a co-accused can reveal thetrue identities of other suspects, assist
the police in locating the victim of acrime, or point out the corpus delicti orbody of the crime. It is a very effective
tool in prosecuting terrorists or membersof criminal organisations.

Section 306 of Code of the Criminal
Procedure, 1973, provides for theobtaining of evidence of an accomplice bytender of pardon subject to his voluntarily
making a full disclosure of the facts andcircumstances relevant to the offence forwhich the accomplice and co-accused arebeing charged with or investigated for.
This provision is applicable in offences
punishable with imprisonment of sevenyears or more.
E. Witness and Victim Protection
Programmes
There is no legisla tion in India a t
present for protection of witnesses andthe members of their families. Section
17 1 of the Crim inal Proce dure C ode
prohib its police officers to ca rry thecomplainant or witness to court. The
intention of such legislation appears to be
to ensure independence of evidence givenby the witnesses without any influence
from the police.
X. CONCLUSION
National strategies are inherently
inadequate for responding to challenges
that cross multiple borders and involve
multiple jurisdictions and a multiplicityof laws. The rapid growth intransnational organized crime and thecomplexity of their inv estigation s
requires a global response. At present,
the me asures adopted to counterorganiz ed crime are not only
p r e d o m i n a n t ly n a ti o n a l, b u t th e s emeasures diffe r from one country toanother. It is absolutely imperative toincrease cooperation between the world’s
law enforcement agencies and to continue
to develop the tools which will help themeffectively counter transnationalorganized crime.
In India, the Extradition Act, 1962
deals with extradition of fugitive586

119TH INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSEPARTICIPANTS’ PAPERS
criminals. Extradition can be made if theoffence is an extraditable offence, i.e., an
offence provided for in the extradition
treaty with a State which is a treaty stateand for other countries, an offence whichis specified under the Second Schedule of
the Act. Under this schedule, there are 18
types of offences. India has extradition
treaties with Nepal, Belgium, Canada,
Netherlands, the United Kingdom, theUnited States of America, Switzerland,
Bhutan and Hong Kong and extradition
arrangements with Sweden, Tanzania,
Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Papua
New Guinea, Fiji and Thailand.
Extradition treaties with Russia,
G erm any, UAE, Bulga ria, Thailand,
France, Ukraine, Romania, Oman, Spain,
Kazakhstan, Greece, Egypt, Malaysia
and Mauritius are under finalisation.
India has entered into Mutual Legal
A s sis ta n c e A g r ee m en ts /T r e a ti e s incriminal matters with the United
Kingdom (1992 agreement concerning theinvestigation and prosecution of crime
and the tracing, restraint andconfiscation of the proceeds andinstruments of crime, including currencytransfer and terrorist funds), Canada(1994), France (1998), Russia (1993),
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan (all Mutual
Legal Assistance Agreements in Criminal
Matters), Egypt, China, Romania,
B ul g a r i a a n d O m a n . M u t u a l L e g a l
Assistance Treaties have been negotiatedwith United Arab Emirates but is yet to
be ratified. Negotiations are continuing
for signing treaties on Mutual Legal
Assistance in Criminal Matters withcountries such as Australia, Norway,
Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Bulgaria, Hong
Kong, Ukraine, Uzbekistan andAzerbaijan.
Section 166 of the Criminal Procedure
Code deals with reciprocal arrangements
regarding processes. A court in India cansend summons or warrants in duplicate
to a court in a foreign country for service
or execution and the said foreign court
w ill ca use the se rvice o r e xec ution.
Section 166-A of the Criminal Procedure
Code provides for letters of request to thecompetent authority for investigation in aforeign country. A criminal court in India
may issue a letter of request to a court or
a competent authority to examine orally
any person supposed to be acquainted
with the facts and circumstances of thecase, to record his statement made in thecourse of such examination and also to
require such person or any other person
to p ro d uc e a n y d o c um e n t o r t hi n g.
Similarly, Section 166-B provides forletters of request from a country or placeoutside India to a court or an authority
for investigation in India. Under thisprovision, the Central Government may
forward the letter of request received
from a foreign country to a magistrate
who may summon such person and record
his statement. The Central Government
can also send the letter to a police officer
who will investigate the offence.
India is a signatory to the South Asia
Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC) Convention for Suppression ofTerrorism. SAARC consists of India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
the Maldives and Bhutan. Pursuant to
the SAARC Convention, India enacted
the SAARC Convention (Suppression ofTerrorism) Act. Extra dita ble crim es
include unlawful seizure of aircraft;unlawful acts against the safety of civil
aviation; crimes against internationallyprotected persons; common law offences
like murder, kidnapping, hostage taking;and offen ces relat ing to firearms,
w ea p on s, e xp losive s a nd d a nge rou s
substances, etc. when used as a means top e r p e tr a t e in d is cr im in a te v io l e nc e
involving death or serious injury, or
serious damage to property.

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