Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 25 (ANI): Experts have emphasised the need to go beyond simply seizing 'illicit goods' in order to win the war against illicit trade, and for law enforcement and regulatory authorities to actively identify, track and dismantle the organised criminal networks behind them.
The experts shared their views at the ASIA Security Conference & Exhibition 2026 in Mumbai.
Organised under the theme "Strengthening Enforcement, Empowering Innovation: India's Next Chapter in Brand Protection," the two-day summit convened senior representatives from Indian Customs, State Police, international intellectual property agencies, and global brand leaders to address the escalating sophistication of cross-border smuggling, digital distribution channels, and regulatory arbitrage.
A press release from the event noted that during the panel discussion "Intelligence-Led Enforcement: Disrupting Counterfeit & Illicit Trade Networks Across Border," Rodney Van Dooren, Director of Illicit Trade Prevention at Philip Morris International (PMI), emphasised that isolated enforcement actions must evolve into connected intelligence operations.
"Every seizure matters, but the greatest value of a seizure is the intelligence that it provides. When that information is shared across agencies, jurisdictions, and companies, it allows us to move beyond intercepting products and towards disrupting the criminal networks behind them."
While delivering the keynote address "Combatting Illicit Trade in India - Challenges, Solutions and The Road Ahead", Van Dooren highlighted the massive scale of the issue.
According to the release, he pointed out that "India's illicit trade is estimated at $231.5 billion annually, making it the second-largest illicit trade market by value among surveyed nations. Focusing specifically on the tobacco sector, he noted that while illicit trade accounts for about 11.6% of the global cigarette market, the problem in India is far more pronounced. According to the Tobacco Institute of India (TII), illicit cigarettes comprise nearly one-fourth (25%) of the domestic market, positioning India as the 4th largest illicit cigarette market in the world and causing an estimated annual revenue loss of ₹23,000 crore to the exchequer."
Van Dooren also detailed how criminal networks exploit misdeclaration to bypass border controls, citing recent operations by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). These included in May 2026, a coordinated pan-India bust seizing nearly 3 lakh (300,000) e-cigarettes and vapes valued at over ₹120 crore across ports, airports, and ICDs in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, and West Bengal, misdeclared as furniture and metal chair parts; in July 2025 the seizure of 10.14 million foreign-origin cigarettes at Nhava Sheva port valued at ₹13.18 crore, falsely declared as "coated calcium carbonate"; in December 2025 the interception of 45,984 e-cigarettes at Tuticorin port valued at ₹10.4 crore, concealed behind umbrellas.
Highlighting the operational perspective of customs enforcement, Prasanna Datar, IRS, Additional Commissioner of Customs (Central Investigation Unit), Nhava Sheva, Mumbai Customs, underscored the tactics employed by syndicates to bypass major monitoring hubs, the release mentioned.
"When it comes to addressing the shift of illicit trade to smaller ports, the primary focus should be on training officers at minor ports so they are conversant with new counterfeiting methods. Furthermore, right holders need to proactively interact with the National Customs Targeting Centre and share specific inputs to help NCTC target and mitigate port-hopping more effectively," he said.
Datar also noted the need for rigorous scrutiny at Free Trade Warehousing Zones (FTWZs) and Special Economic Zones (SEZs), where goods transitioning into Domestic Tariff Areas (DTAs) require enhanced, targeted examination.
Detailing the law enforcement challenges in the digital age, Swagat Patil, IPS, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime, Delhi Police, emphasized following the complete operational trail, "We should not only target the warehouses and the product, but we must focus on dismantling the entire network. Illicit distributors and suppliers are using encrypted platforms to coordinate, and a significant portion of counterfeit products are now being moved through small parcel systems. To effectively combat this, we need to follow the money, follow the data, and trace the entire ecosystem operating behind these counterfeit products," he said.
International perspectives were shared by Nakano Hiroyuki, Senior Director (Intellectual Property Rights) at JETRO New Delhi, who emphasised that raw information only becomes actionable intelligence when structured across government, online marketplaces, and rights holders.
The release underlined that the key strategic takeaways from the conference included five areas.
These include, "Intelligence-Led Risk Profiling: Transitioning from random inspections to predictive algorithms, container scanning, and advanced shipment data analytics; Combating Regulatory Evasion: Enforcing strict compliance on statutory warnings and packaging standards under frameworks like COTPA and PECA to safeguard consumers and government revenues; E-Commerce & Digital Marketplace Accountability: Establishing direct feedback loops between digital platforms, local police, and customs to detect repeat offenders; Structured Capacity Building: Establishing regular joint training programs across the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), GST intelligence, State Police, Legal Metrology, and health departments," the release said.
The ASIA Security Conference & Exhibition serves as a critical platform, uniting brand owners, regulators, law enforcement agencies, government policy-makers, and security solution providers to address challenges in anti-counterfeiting, online brand protection, cross-border product security, product smuggling, and diversion.
Organised by ASIAS SECURITY GROUP SDN. BHD., this comprehensive event aims to explore and discuss the profound impacts of illicit trade on governments, brands, and society, the release underlined. (ANI)
Experts call for intelligence-led action in breaking cross-border illicit trade networks
