The enormity of the issue of smuggling can be gauged from the fact that DRI seizes more than Rs 1,000 crore of contraband every month, said DRI D-G Mohan Kumar Singh at FICCI CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) ‘Anti-Smuggling Day’ event.

“For DRI every day is an Anti-Smuggling Day… Smuggling is carried out in our country by the land, sea and air route via different modes- containers, porous borders, usage of sophisticated means by smugglers etc.”

Applauding FICCI CASCADE, Singh said, “Today, smugglers are using sophisticated methods and technologies to smuggle goods across international borders. This kind of illicit trade in terms of counterfeiting and smuggling is a global risk that has negative impacts on economic activities, deprives governments of revenue, forces a high burden on taxpayers, exposes customers to dangerous products and provides linkages to terrorism.”

He said think tanks like FICCI CASCADE can play an important role in generating fresh ideas, creating awareness and highlighting the problems of smuggling and counterfeiting.

Over the years, FICCI CASCADE has been working on creating awareness on tackling the grave problem of smuggling and launched Anti-smuggling Day in 2022 as a global first. The objective of declaring an Anti-Smuggling Day is to highlight the issue among consumers and how smuggling is impacting nation-building, enhance coordination and cooperation between law enforcement agencies, facilitate better exchange of information and experiences and build a strong network to find innovative solutions to combat the menace of smuggling.

PK Das, director, Compliance and Facilitation Directorate, World Customs Organisation (WCO) said, “As per UNCTAD smuggling drains 3% of the world’s economy and results in a loss of 2 trillion dollars. To address smuggling the WCO has unveiled a three- year strategic plan (2022-25) with a focus in the areas of illicit trade. WCO has also launched a data strategy to nurture and reengineer new processes, incorporate modern disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, drone, robotics etc.”

© 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Smuggling is rampant and the enormity of the issue can be gauged from the fact that DRI seizes more than Rs 1,000 crore of contraband every month, a top official said.

For DRI every day is an Anti-Smuggling Day, said Mohan Kumar Singh, Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), while addressing at Ficci CASCADE 'Anti-Smuggling Day' here.

"Today, smugglers are using sophisticated methods and technologies to smuggle goods across international borders. This kind of illicit trade in terms of counterfeiting and smuggling is a global risk that has negative impacts on economic activities, deprives governments of revenue, forces a high burden on taxpayers, exposes customers to dangerous products and provides linkages to terrorism," he said.

Think tanks like Ficci CASCADE (Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy) can play an important role in generating fresh ideas, creating awareness and highlighting the problems of smuggling and counterfeiting, he added.

Over the years, Ficci CASCADE has been working on creating awareness on tackling the grave problem of smuggling and launched Anti-Smuggling Day in 2022 as a global first.

The objective of declaring an Anti-Smuggling Day was to highlight the issue amongst consumers and how smuggling is impacting nation-building, enhance coordination and cooperation between law enforcement agencies, facilitate better exchange of information and experiences and build a strong network to find innovative solutions to combat the menace of smuggling, Ficci said in a statement.

Speaking on the ocassion, World Customs Organisation (WCO) Director, Compliance and Facilitation Directorate, P K Das said, "As per UNCTAD smuggling drains 3 per cent of the world's economy and results in a loss of 2 trillion dollars.

To address smuggling, the WCO has unveiled a three-year strategic plan (2022-25) with a focus in the areas of illicit trade, he said, adding, WCO has also launched a data strategy to nurture and reengineer new processes, incorporate modern disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, drone, robotics etc.

Highlighting the importance of sharing best practices to tackle smuggling, Das said, advanced analytics used by Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to detect fraud in indirect taxation domain in India was showcased to WCO members as part of disseminating best practices.

Ficci CASCADE chairman Anil Rajput said, "We pledged to leave no stone unturned in raising awareness and resolved to take concerted action against this multi-faceted adversary on this day."

Every investor in Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE:ODC) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 45% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. As a result, a sizeable amount of institutional money invested in a firm is generally viewed as a positive attribute.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Oil-Dri Corporation of America, beginning with the chart below.

Check out our latest analysis for Oil-Dri Corporation of America

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Oil-Dri Corporation of America?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Oil-Dri Corporation of America. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Oil-Dri Corporation of America, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is not owned by hedge funds. Jaffee Investment Partnership L.P. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 17% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.0% and 7.1%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Daniel Jaffee, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.

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On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 8 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Our information suggests that there isn't any analyst coverage of the stock, so it is probably little known.

Insider Ownership Of Oil-Dri Corporation of America

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Oil-Dri Corporation of America. Insiders own US$30m worth of shares in the US$270m company. This may suggest that the founders still own a lot of shares. You can click here to see if they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 26% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 17%, of the shares on issue. Private companies may be related parties. Sometimes insiders have an interest in a public company through a holding in a private company, rather than in their own capacity as an individual. While it's hard to draw any broad stroke conclusions, it is worth noting as an area for further research.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Oil-Dri Corporation of America better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 3 warning signs for Oil-Dri Corporation of America (1 is a bit concerning) that you should be aware of.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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The Coast Guard and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) have seized nearly 18 kg of gold in the district, with a diving operation helping secure the yellow metal from the seabed.

In a joint operation, the Coast Guard along with DRI, Chennai, seized 17.74 kg of gold, worth about Rs 10.50 crore from Mandapam while it was being smuggled from Sri Lanka by the sea route, a Defence release here said.

Based on an intelligence input from DRI, Chennai, Indian Coast Guard Station Mandapam deployed a joint team onboard Interceptor Boat (IB) C-432 on February 7.

"The team maintained surveillance in Gulf of Mannar for two days for any suspicious activity. On the night of Feb 8, the IB boarded a suspicious boat which was trying to escape at high speed to evade interception. On rummaging the boat, suspected contraband was not found and it was suspected that the same was thrown overboard during interception."

"Therefore, a diving operation was conducted by the ICG team in the probable area and a consignment of 17.74 kg gold was recovered from the seabed. The fishing boat along with 3 crew have been handed over to Coastal Security Group, Mandapam for further legal action," the release added.