14 gold bars seized, carrier arrested

In Alipurduar, Kumargram police intercepts a car at Debenbabur Chowpathi on NH31C as it enters from Assam with 12 pieces of white sandalwood

The gold bars seized by the BSF on Monday: The Telegraph Picture

TT Bureau   |   Siliguri/Alipurduar   |   02.11.22  :  Troops of the 152 battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF) at the India-Bangladesh border in North Dinajpur acted on a tip-off and recovered gold bars weighing over 1.6 kilos and worth around Rs 80 lakh on Monday.

The carrier of the gold bars was arrested.

Sources said that the troops posted in Ambari border outpost intercepted Harasit Biswas, 52, of Jharbari village under Goalpokhar police station of the district.

“He was hiding 14 gold bars in his clothes. As he was frisked, the gold he tried to smuggle into India from Bangladesh, was found in his possession,” said a source in the BSF.

Altogether, 1,632.51 grams of gold were seized from him, estimated to be worth around Rs 80 lakh. He was handed over to the Customs department in Islampur.

The BSF also carried our anti-smuggling drives in different locations along the India-Bangladesh border from last Saturday to Tuesday and seized a number of other contraband items including cattle and cough syrup bottles that were supposed to be smuggled to Bangladesh, sources said.

Sandalwood

In Alipurduar, Kumargram police intercepted a car on Tuesday at Debenbabur Chowpathi on NH31C as it entered from Assam and found 12 pieces of white sandalwood, measuring around 10 cubic feet and worth around Rs 15 lakh.

Driver Kajal Sarkar, a resident of Pakriguri in Kumargram, was arrested. He was supposed to deliver the illegal consignment of sandalwood somewhere in Cooch Behar, police sources said.