Bengaluru drug bust behind Aadhaar advisory

Two people allegedly used morphed Aadhaar cards to smuggle contraband from International Courier Terminal in Bengaluru to Australia

The Centre on May 29 withdrew its advisory, two days after releasing it, that warned citizens not to share photocopies of their Aadhaar cards with any organisation as they can be misused.

The new statement said the Aadhaar ecosystem had adequate features to protect the identity and privacy of users and that users are only advised to exercise "normal prudence" while using and sharing Aadhaar numbers.

The UIDAI issued its latest statement clarifying its stand after its previous press release triggered panic.

As per a report by The Indian Express, the May 27 advisory by UIDAI was issued after two people, including a Chennai-based drug smuggler, allegedly used morphed Aadhaar cards to smuggle contraband from International Courier Terminal in Bengaluru to Australia.

The examination of the consignment revealed pouches of a white crystalline substance concealed within readymade garments. Upon testing, officials found that it was ephedrine, weighing 4.496 kg, and having a market price of about Rs 89.92 lakh.

The drug was seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the statement said. The exporter was arrested and produced before a special NDPS court, which remanded him to judicial custody.

In the follow-up action, officers of Andhra Pradesh Police arrested the Chennai-based person who had morphed the Aadhar card of an individual from Guntur with his own photograph and had approached a courier agency in Vijayawada to export the above-mentioned shipment.

He was remanded to judicial custody for various offences under the Indian Penal Code, the Customs officials said.

"It was observed that certain unscrupulous individuals had morphed the Aadhar card of unsuspecting individuals and have used the same to export-prohibited, contraband substances," the statement said.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Friday issued a statement suggesting the use of masked Aadhaar, which shows only the last four digits of the document, and not to share photocopies of the unmasked document with random organisations. Even the UIDAI also said that "Unlicensed private entities like hotels or film halls are not permitted to collect or keep copies of Aadhaar cards."

However, the UIDAI statement received criticism, and several activists said the UIDAI should have taken care of this risk a long time ago and informed the public then.

(With inputs from PTI)