NEW DELHI: The Centre has proposed to double land customs stations in the Northeast to 50 by the end of this financial year, following a surge in the smuggling of narcotics in the region over the past 12 months.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the country's apex indirect taxes body, has identified many porous spots along the country’s borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh.
India shares borders with four countries in the northeast and has 25 land customs stations, of which 20 are fully functional and only 15 have electronic facilities.

“We are planning to take the number to at least 50 by the end of this fiscal,” a senior official said. All the land customs stations will be equipped with advanced technology infrastructure, artificial intelligence and real-time reporting to stop the smuggling, said another official.

While gold, cigarettes and opium were always smuggled via northeast, the official said there has been a sharp increase in smuggling of psychotropic drugs, both in the form of tablets and syrups.