Despite tight vigil rice smugglers active in Tamil Nadu

According to sources in Civil Supplies CID (CSCID), nearly 90 per cent of the card holders who get the 20 kg free rice from the ration shops sell them to smuggling agents. The purchased rice is then moved in bulk and sold in states like AP, Karnataka and Kerala to ‘wholesalers’ in the racket for Rs 10 per kg or even more. 

“A person can carry up to 20 kg of rice and we cannot stop and question them. On any day, an average of about 400 vendors come to Chennai from different areas by suburban trains. Each of them, on their return carry 20 kg of rice with them and it is a substantial quantity, say 8,000 kg. However, we have managed to curb large scale smuggling through trains, mainly long distance services,” an official attached to the CSCID told DT Next. 

As part of its surveillance, the CSCID had posted one company of TSP, 60 male police personnel, permanently at the Central station to check smuggling of rice in bulk quantities through trains. 

CSCID during its trail of the smuggling of ration rice also found that personnel belonging to its wing themselves were involved in the racket and had suspended 19 of them, besides initiating departmental action against 45 personnel. 

“Sale of ration rice by individual cardholders is very difficult to monitor and prevent. None of these cardholders consume the free rice. Most of the rice cardholders purchase their monthly quota and sell them,” the official added. 

Sources said the free rice provided through the ration shops in the state are good in quality. But, huge portion of it are sold in other states for a price. 

“Due to the effective surveillance by CSCID, smuggling of rice in lorries have been completely stopped. Earlier, even containers were used to smuggle ration rice. The incidents have come down considerably with the arrest of kingpins in the racket in the past few months. Totally, 2,089 accused were arrested from other states during the last five years,” the official added.