Gold worth Rs 4.24 cr seized from Petrapole ahead of Shah's visit

Kolkata, May 8 (IANS) In a major haul, the South Bengal Frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF) seized 52 gold biscuits worth nearly Rs 4.24 crore from the Agartala-Kolkata (via Dhaka) Maitri international bus at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) in Petrapole, North 24-Parganas, on Monday.

Mustafa, the driver of the bus, and his helper, Matiur Rahman Akanda, have been taken into custody. Both are Bangladeshi nationals.

The seizure comes a day ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to ICP, Petrapole, where he will inaugurate several projects, including infrastructure-related ones, for the BSF.

On Monday, Sujoy Lal Thaosen, Director General, BSF, was on an inspection visit to Petrapole and was accompanied by Sonali Mishra, ADG, BSF, Eastern Command, and Ayush Mani Tiwari, IG, BSF, South Bengal Frontier.

According to a senior BSF official, troops of the 145 Bn received a tip-off about smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border. The bus from Agartala was searched thoroughly and the gold biscuits were found inside a hollow pipe near the fuel tank. They weighed 6.950 kg. It has been confirmed that the gold was being smuggled to India from Bangladesh.

The two smugglers along with the gold biscuits have been handed over to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Kolkata. Thaosen has congratulated the troops of the South Bengal Frontier for their alertness.

Gold worth several crores has been seized by the BSF along the India-Bangladesh border since the end of April. This trend is expected with the resumption of the marriage season in West Bengal when the demand for gold ornaments peaks.

Unscrupulous traders take advantage of the price difference of gold in India and Bangladesh to smuggle in the yellow metal and sell them on the sly to ornament manufacturers. Some of this gold is also sent to other states adjoining West Bengal, an official said.