(District-North 24 Parganas)
On 07 August 2023, foiling the smuggling attempt, the alert jawans of ICP Petrapole, 145 Battalion, BSF under South Bengal Frontier, took major action during the search operation and apprehended 06 bus drivers and helpers along with silver ornaments from two passenger buses of Green Line Travels. This bus was going from India to Bangladesh carrying passengers. The weight of the seized silver ornaments is 17.496 kg and the estimated value of which is Rs.12,70,228/-. Apart from this, the jawans also seized illegal medicines and liquor from the bus, whose estimated cost is Rs 6,24,820/-.
In fact, acting during the routine checking of Buses, the troops of ICP Petrapole conducted a thorough search of 02 Volvo passenger buses that reached ICP Petrapole from Kolkata at around 1050 hrs. During the search, the jawans seized 12 bundles of medicines, 18 bottles of liquor and a large quantity of silver ornaments from two buses (Reg. No. 19–L 5151 & 19–L 5252). On inquiry about the above items, the drivers and helpers of the buses stated that these items were hidden by them in the buses for the purpose of smuggling. After this, the BSF jawans immediately caught the bus drivers and helpers on the spot and seized the goods.
Apprehended smugglers identified as 1. Indrajit Rai (Driver), S/o Anil Roy, Village Bonsol, District Pachim Bardhaman, 2. Bhola Paul (Helper), S/o Nepal Paul, Village Azad Nagar Main Gate, District Pachim Bardhaman, 3. Sameer Saha (Helper), S/o Nishankar Saha, Village Pachhimpara, District Murshidabad, 4. Mohammad Arsad (Driver), Father Sanaullah Saeed, Village Azad Nagar Main Gate, District West Bardhaman, 5. Jaber Qaqbal Laskar (Helper), S/o Afiluddin Laskar, Village Khanthalberia, South 24 Parganas and 6. Mohd. Amin (Helper), S/o Md. Yusuf, Village 22/F, Lock Gate Road, District Kolkata, West Bengal.
During interrogation, they revealed that all of them are Indian passport holders. They have been working in Indo-Bangladesh Green Line bus service for a long time. They further revealed that they received silver ornaments from Dharmatala, Kolkata and were to hand them over to a smuggler named Badrarul in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They disclosed about the medicines that they received the medicines from a person named Ali Bhai from the same place and about to handed them over to a smuggler named Badshah in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They also revealed that they also got liquor bottles from Rajeev of Dharmatala and about to handed over to Ripon, who lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Further, they told that they were to get 1000 Bangladesh Taka for 01 kg of silver ornaments, 1800 Bangladesh Taka for a bundle and 2200 Bangladesh Taka for the seized liquor.
The apprehended smugglers and the seized goods have been handed over to the Custom Office, Petrapole.
A K Arya, DIG, Public Relations Officer, BSF South Bengal Frontier informed that BSF is taking strict steps to stop smuggling along Indo-Bangladesh border. He stated that smugglers, truck drivers and bus drivers try to smuggle many times but the alert BSF troops and the intelligence department are keeping a close watch on their nefarious intentions. He further stated that due to this BSF jawans have been continuously disrupting the plans of smugglers.
