NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked revenue intelligence officers to develop better coordination with state and central agencies and expeditiously work on "actionable intelligence" to nab masterminds behind smuggling syndicates.

Stressing that narcotics has become the "biggest threat" and schools and colleges are the "first victims" of drug abuse, Sitharaman said it is to be stopped by the DRI and then coordinated with the state police. "We need to have greater coordination and greater understanding of the size as well as scope of the threat," she added.

Sitharaman also asked the DRI officers to investigate "holistically" keeping the big picture in focus and not merely chase "isolated infractions".

"Leverage all available information and data on an entity, on an individual, and their behavioural patterns to uncover deeper systemic risks and threats by connecting latent dots. The goal must be to dismantle entire network and the syndicate, not just to intercept fragments," Sitharaman told enforcement officers after inaugurating the new headquarters building of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

She also said that DRI needs to have "greater awareness and more actionable intelligence" and enforcement agencies should be "smart enough" to decide on which information is actionable and which has to be taken up immediately from the dump of data which they receive. "So, there is that area which I would still call as a grey area," she said.

Asking the DRI officers to go after masterminds of crime, she said "no good if you catch the small fish... The bigger ones are the ones who are not being touched by many of our actions. We need to have the entire smuggling chain, entire nefarious operation chain, tracked and acted upon. It's not easy ... but we should show some tangible results on it." Last year, DRI seized 1,382 kg of gold in multiple operations in which key members of syndicates have been arrested and networks busted.

During 2024, DRI seized 62 kg of heroin, 85 kg of cocaine, more than 10,000 kg of ganja and over 600 kg of synthetic drugs, including Ketamine, Methamphetamine and Ecstasy.

Red-flagging that schools and colleges are being targeted by drug traffickers, the minister said DRI needs to coordinate with the state police officials or state law enforcement agencies to make them understand the "gravity of the situation".

"...that is the other side of action on which a lot more thought and discussion should happen. Coordination with state law enforcing agencies is the grey area. I see that today even if you're able to stop such nefarious activities, the end result on the ground takes its own traction, and that has to be expedited," Sitharaman said.

DRI is a "bulwark" on India's national security apparatus, she said, adding that the agency should deeply integrate modern technology into the system, besides forging stronger international partnerships.

Sitharaman also highlighted three key imperatives for effective enforcement and secondly, investigations should be holistic, keeping the big picture in focus, not merely chasing isolated infractions.

She said rules must be applied fairly, and consistently, and frauds must be caught swiftly.

"Do not view enforcement and facilitation as opposing ends of the spectrum. Robust intelligence framework that detects fraud is essential, not just to catch wrongdoers, but to create a level-playing field for the honest trade," she said.

And lastly, enforcement operations should be rooted not only in data but also in 'Dharma'.

Set up in 1957, DRI, under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), is the "key guardian" of the national economic frontier and is tasked with detecting smuggling, drug trafficking, illicit trade, and such threats.