BSF, Kolkata DRI arrest 7 smugglers, seize Rs 6.86-cr gold, Rs 11.5 lakh cash near India-Bangladesh border

In a joint operation with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), the Border Security Force (BSF) has arrested seven smugglers in four consecutive search operations conducted near the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s Nadia district.

In these operations carried out at Seemanagar on state highway no. 11 in Nadia district, the Kolkata DRI and the BSF recovered a total of 16 gold bricks and a gold biscuit weighing 9.572 kg, cash worth Rs 11,58,500 and a Maruti Eco car used in gold delivery from the possession of the smugglers. The total estimated market value of the seized gold is Rs 6,86,23,582.

According to the BSF, the DRI had shared information about gold smuggling with the intelligence department of the force on July 4.

“On confirming the information, a joint team of BSF’s 68 Battalion and DRI conducted a comprehensive search operation of vehicles on State Highway No. 11 in the area of Simanagar. In this operation, which ran between 5.30 am and 9 am, the jawans arrested two smugglers with 4.8 kg of gold from a suspicious Maruti Eco car. After this, four other smugglers were also detained during the search with 4.82 kg of gold,” said the BSF.

Based on the information received during the preliminary interrogation, another operation was launched at a suspicious house in Ramnagar village of Karimpur in West Bengal and a person was arrested with 1 gold biscuit and illegal cash of Rs 11,58,500.

The main smuggler, who is a resident of Teypur in Nadia, has been arrested. Apart from this, six other arrested gold couriers are residents of Nadia.

During preliminary interrogation, the BSF said, the main smuggler said that he had been involved in gold smuggling for a long time and this time he was going to deliver a consignment of gold to an unknown person in Krishnanagar, in return for which he would have got Rs 3000, but BSF caught him with gold before that and earlier in 2022 he was arrested by BSF with 16 gold biscuits. “The case of which is still going on.”

“Apart from this, all the gold couriers revealed that they carry gold from the border area of Karimpur and hand it over to unknown persons at Dum Dum railway station and for this work, they get two to five thousand rupees,” the BSF said.

All the smugglers and gold caught have been handed over to DRI, Kolkata for further legal action.