Kolkata, Nov 14 (IANS): The Border Security Force (BSF) claims to have seized over 1 kg of gold in two separate incidents at Petrapole in the North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal.
Two persons, including an Indian truck driver, were arrested along with the contraband and have been handed over to the Customs Department for necessary legal action.
Petrapole is an Integrated Check Post (ICP) between India and Bangladesh used by thousands of people and hundreds of trucks in both countries.
N K Pandey, DIG and spokesperson, South Bengal Frontier, BSF said that the first incident occurred when troops of the 145 Bn BSF were on duty at the security checkpoint, adding that they were checking the luggage of all people travelling across the international border.
“While checking the trolley bag of an Indian national, who had travelled to Bangladesh with valid documents, the BSF personnel detected something inside the hollows into which the retractable handle is pushed when not in use. On careful inspection, two gold wires were detected inside the tubes. The man was arrested after he couldn't produce any documents for the gold,” he said.
He asserted that on being questioned, the man claimed that he had been offered Rs 500 by someone in Bangladesh to take the trolley bag to India, where somebody would collect it from him.
“The suspected smuggler said that he hadn't suspected anything as he believed that the bag was empty,” he said.
According to the DIG, the second incident occurred when the BSF personnel had been tipped off by the intelligence branch of the Force of a gold smuggling attempt by then.
“They started checking all vehicles entering India from Bangladesh. While searching an empty truck, five gold biscuits were found inside the driver's cabin. He was immediately arrested. During interrogation, the driver confessed that he had received Rs 2,500 from a person in Benapole, Bangladesh, to transport the gold to Petrapole. The total weight of the gold, from both seizures, is 1,049.66 grams and its value is estimated to be Rs 79.61 lakh,” he said.
The DIG commended the efforts of the BSF troops and made another appeal to people living along the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB) to inform the Force of any attempt to smuggle gold.
“People can directly call up the BSF's Seema Sathi Helpline 14419 or send voice or text messages to the WhatsApp number 9903472227. He assured that informants would be rewarded and their identities kept confidential,” he said.