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CAG raps customs dept for obsolete intel equipment

According to a report released last week, the CAG found that all eight HF (high frequency) sets were non-operational while all 113 VHF (very high frequency) sets were about 20-25 years old and therefore not reliable for satisfactory long-range communication.

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The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has come down heavily on the Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive) Mumbai, stating that the department's intelligence functions suffers from a number of deficiencies like obsolete telecommunication equipment which are a necessity for effective patrolling of the sea and coastline of the country's financial capital.

The Preventive Wing of the Customs department, as the name suggests, is mandated to prevent smuggling activities by employing various deterrent methods like maintaining an intelligence network, cultivating informers, conducting searches leading to seizures, and confiscation of contraband, among others.

The gaps pointed out by the CAG raise serious concerns as effective patrolling was prioritised after the 26/11 terror attack in which 10 heavily armed Pakistani terrorists sneaked into the city through the sea route and unleashed carnage.

According to a report released last week, the CAG found that all eight HF (high frequency) sets were non-operational while all 113 VHF (very high frequency) sets were about 20-25 years old and therefore not reliable for satisfactory long-range communication.

This, the report claims, compromises security as there is no effective communication between patrolling boats and sub-stations at the division-level as well as with the control room at the headquarters.

What has baffled the auditors is that although correspondences were made with the Directorate of Logistics (DoL) in this regard, since 2011 onwards, no equipment has been received by the commissionerate till date despite the department paying Rs 2.30 lakh as a spectrum fee to the Wireless Planning and Co-ordination (WPC) department.

The Preventive Wing of the Customs, as the name suggests is mandated with the prevention of smuggling activities by employing various deterrent methods like maintaining intelligence network, cultivating informers, making searches leading to seizures, confiscation of contraband, among others.

Highlighting the poor sea patrolling carried out by the department, the audit finds that in areas around periphery of Mumbai, only Category-III vessels are deployed which, as per the specification, are not suitable for operating in rough weather.

This implies that the entire jurisdiction of territorial waters is not being covered for effective patrolling, raising security concerns. "The preventive commissionerate's intelligence functions suffered from many deficiencies like non-functional telecommunication equipment, inadequate anti-smuggling equipment, old arms and ammunition, low proportion of trained staff for intelligence functions coupled with high turn-over of staff, and poor coordination with other government agencies involved in anti-smuggling and inter-departmental intelligence operations," the CAG said.

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