BSF seizes smuggled gold worth Rs 4 cr at Indo- Bangladesh border in Bengal

Kolkata, Nov 2 (IANS) The Border Security Force (BSF), on Thursday seized smuggled gold biscuits worth Rs 4 crore after intercepting a truck at the International Border (IB) with Bangladesh at the Benapole-Petrapole border in North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal.

According to the BSF, the driver of the truck has been arrested and handed over to the customs department along with the smuggled gold consignment.

The arrested truck driver has been identified at Suraj Mog and he is a resident of Jaipur area under Bangaon sub-division.

The 60 smuggled gold biscuits that were recovered from the driver’s possession weigh seven kg and are valued at over Rs 4 crore.

It is learnt that the goods vehicle, which has an international permit, went to the Benapole Port on the Bangladesh side, with a legal consignment on October 30. The truck was supposed to come back to the Indian side after unloading the consignment there.

However, late on Wednesday night, the jawans of battalion number 145 of the BSF stopped the vehicle at the integrated check-post at Benapole- Petrapole border and searched it.

The smuggled gold, wrapped in a white cloth, was recovered from the driver’s cabin.

During interrogation the arrested truck driver revealed that he received the smuggled gold consignment in Bangladesh and was supposed to hand it over to someone residing near the IB on the Indian side.

This is the second major success of BSF sleuths at the IB in South 24 Parganas within a span of just two weeks. On October 22, the BSF sleuths arrested two Bangladeshi citizens at Benapole-Petrapole border with smuggled gold bard and biscuits worth around Rs 1.23 crore.