Question

Operation 'Rakth Chandan' was associated with which institution?

• A. Narcotics Control Bureau
• B. Indian Army
• C. Indian Navy
• D. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence

Hint:

- DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) $\rightarrow$ Intercepts economic contraband, commercial fraud, and illegal export/import of wildlife/flora at custom borders. - NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) $\rightarrow$ Strictly handles psychotropic substances and illegal narcotics. Since Red Sanders is a valuable natural trade asset, its cross-border smuggling falls under the DRI.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Concept: Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus), commonly known as Red Sandalwood or 'Rakth Chandan', is a flora species endemic to a highly restricted tract of forests in the Eastern Ghats region of Andhra Pradesh. Due to its critically high demand across Asia (primarily China and Japan) for luxury furniture, musical instruments, cosmetics, and traditional medicine, it faces intense illegal logging. It is classified as 'Endangered' on the IUCN Red List and listed under Appendix-II of CITES, making its unauthorized export completely prohibited under India’s Foreign Trade Policy.

Step 1:
The

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which functions as the apex anti-smuggling intelligence and investigative agency under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Finance, launched

Operation Rakth Chandan.

Step 2:
Under this specific operational crackdown, DRI officials intercepted a suspect export consignment at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) Sabarmati. The consignment was falsely declared to contain "assorted toiletries" destined for Sharjah, UAE. Upon scanning via a container scanning device and physical de-stuffing, the DRI successfully recovered 14.63 metric tonnes (MT) of high-grade Red Sanders logs valued at approximately \(\text{Rs. } 11.70 \text{ crore}\) in the international market. Follow-up coordination led to further multi-ton seizures across major maritime ports like Nhava Sheva and Mundra. Thus, the operation is explicitly credited to the DRI.