The vigilant Jawans of the BSF South Bengal Frontier successfully thwarted several smuggling attempts along the Indo-Bangladesh border. During these operations, they seized 21.39 kg of silver jewelry valued at approximately ₹17 lakh, 1,057 bottles of Phensedyl, 7.3 kg of Ganja and 25 fish pin balls worth around ₹11 lakh. Additionally, eight cattle were rescued from the clutches of smugglers. In the course of these actions, 4 Indian smugglers and 1 Bangladeshi smuggler were caught red-handedly.
On 29 April, while on duty, the Jawans of Border Outpost Bamanabad, 73 Battalion BSF, located along the Indo-Bangladesh International Border in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, spotted footprints on the riverbank leading towards nearby bushes.The Jawans acted swiftly and followed the footprints, soon spotting suspicious movement in the bushes. Responding immediately, they cordoned off the area and successfully apprehended three Indian smugglers hiding in the undergrowth. A total of 590 bottles of Phensedyl and two mobile phones were recovered from their possession. During interrogation, the smugglers revealed that the Phensedyl had been handed over to them by another individual, and they were tasked with smuggling it into Bangladesh. In return, each was promised a payment of ₹10,000. However, the BSF Jawans arrested all three along with the smuggled items.
In another incident on the same day, acting on a tip-off, the troops of the 146 Battalion, Border Outpost Jalangi, BSF, laid an ambush along the Indo-Bangladesh International Border in Murshidabad district. At approximately 7:30 PM, they apprehended a Bangladeshi smuggler attempting to illegally cross from India to Bangladesh. The smuggler was found in possession of 7.3 kg of Ganja, one bottle of English liquor and six mobile phones.
In the third incident on the same day, the troops of BSF’s 143 battalion Border Outpost Hakimpur, acting on a tip-off on the Indo-Bangladesh International Border in North 24 Parganas district, arrested a person from his house in Uttarpara of Hakimpur village along the border with 20.5 kg silver jewellery and 9 mobile phones collected for the purpose of smuggling. The estimated value of the seized silver jewellery is about Rs. 16.55 lakh. During interrogation, the arrested smuggler told that a person from Bithari village had given him these silver ornaments to deposit temporarily at his house, in return for which he was promised ₹ 10,000/- but on the same day BSF jawans searched his house and recovered the above mentioned items.
Apart from this, in other incidents, a total of 840 grams of silver ornaments (estimated value around Rs 53 thousand), 467 bottles of Phensedyl and 25 fish pin balls (estimated value around Rs 11 lakh) were seized in separate operations on the India-Bangladesh international border in Murshidabad, Malda and North 24 Parganas districts. Along with this, 8 cattle were also rescued from the clutches of cattle smugglers.
All the smugglers caught have been handed over to the concerned department along with the seized items.
While giving information about this incident, the Public Relations Officer of South Bengal Frontier said that BSF jawans are foiling the plans of smugglers every day and are also succeeding in arresting them red handed. This reflects the high level of alertness and unwavering dedication of BSF jawans to their duty.
