Over 1 kg gold seized by BSF along Indo-B'desh border, smuggler nabbed

Kolkata, Nov 6 (IANS) The Border Security Force (BSF) have arrested a smuggler and seized 10 gold biscuits weighing 1.168 kg from Bongaon in the North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal.

N K Pandey, DIG and spokesperson, South Bengal Frontier, BSF said that the seizure is worth Rs 86.76 lakh while the gold being smuggled on Monday was valued at Rs 37.51 lakh.

“On Tuesday, troops of the Haridaspur Border Outpost acted on specific intelligence inputs regarding the smuggling of gold from Bagdah to Bongaon. Both locations are close to the IBB. A suspect on a motorcycle was stopped near the BDO office in Bongaon and he broke down and admitted that he was carrying 10 gold biscuits. He was taken to the Haridaspur BOP for documentation and legal procedures,” he added.

DIG Pandey said that during interrogation at the BOP, the smuggler revealed that he is a resident of Krishnachandrapur in North 24-Parganas.

He also claimed that a friend of his from Boyra in the same district had offered him a job in October. He was to collect consignments of gold from an unidentified individual near Krishnachandrapur and deliver them to different contacts in Bongaon. He was to receive Rs 1,000 for every successful delivery. He was arrested while delivering the first consignment, the man said during interrogation,” he added.

DIG Pandey added that the smuggler, along with the gold biscuits, have been handed over to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Kolkata for further legal processing.

While commending the efforts of the BSF personnel, Pandey urged the border population to inform the force if they receive any information on gold smuggling.

“They can directly call up the BSF’s Seema Sathi Helpline at 14419 or send a voice or text message via WhatsApp to 9903472227,” he said.

He assured that informants would be rewarded and their identities kept confidential.

This is the second seizure in as many days. On Monday, BSF troops seized four gold biscuits from an Indian smuggler along the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB) in the state's Murshidabad district. The weight of the four biscuits was 466.50 grams.

--IANS

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