Kolkata: A man from West Bengal’s Nadia district was apprehended from a train by the Border Security Force (BSF) while attempting to smuggle a gold bar weighing 1 kg to Kolkata.
The accused has been taken to the Gede Border Outpost for further investigation. The value of the gold is estimated to be nearly Rs 69,05,000.
“The intelligence branch of the BSF informed the 32nd Battalion under the South Bengal Frontier of an attempt to smuggle gold by train from close to the India-Bangladesh border to Kolkata.
“BSF personnel in plainclothes boarded a Gede-Sealdah local train at the Majhdia station and succeeded in identifying the smuggler. He was taken off the train at Mayurhat Halt. One gold bar was found in his possession,” said A.K. Arya, DIG and spokesperson, BSF, South Bengal Frontier.
During interrogation, the man confessed that he had boarded the train at Banpur and was to get off at Payradanga. There, he was to hand over the gold bar to a man who would disclose a secret code.
The code was to be the serial number of a certain Re 1 currency note. From Payradanga, the gold was to be carried to Sealdah in Kolkata – a distance of 70 km – by someone else. According to an official, smugglers use several couriers for every consignment to evade the law enforcers.
“I again urge the border population to provide any information related to gold smuggling to BSF’s Seema Sathi Helpline number 14419 or send a WhatsApp or voice message to 9903472227. Those providing concrete information will be rewarded and their identities will not be disclosed,” Arya added.
–IANS