BSF, DRI seize 12kg gold in raids along India-Bangladesh border
The seizures included 5.9kg near the India-Bangladesh border and 1.71kg from a train passenger in Patna.
India's Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), in coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF), has seized around 12kg of foreign-origin gold worth about Rs17 crore in a series of raids across India-Bangladesh border areas.
In West Bengal, BSF personnel recovered 27 pieces of foreign-origin gold weighing around 3.15kg near the India-Bangladesh Border Road in the area under Gongra border outpost on 20–21 September. The DRI subsequently took over the proceedings and seized the gold under the Customs Act, 1962.
In another operation on 21 September, BSF personnel at Mahakhola border outpost recovered 10 pieces of 24-carat foreign-origin gold weighing around 1.16kg. The gold had been concealed near a hand pump in Hathkhola village, ahead of the India-Bangladesh border fence. The DRI subsequently seized the gold under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962.
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Earlier, on 10-11 September, BSF personnel recovered 48 bars of foreign-origin gold weighing around 5.9kg near the India-Bangladesh border fence in the Pathergata outpost area. The DRI later took over the gold and seized it.
In Patna, DRI officers recovered and seized 15 gold bars and four small pieces of foreign-origin gold weighing around 1.71kg from a train passenger. The gold was concealed in a cloth knee brace wrapped around both his legs.
The investigation indicated that the gold had been smuggled from Bangladesh, and the passenger was arrested, according to the DRI.
The raids were part of a coordinated effort by the DRI and BSF to disrupt the smuggling, transportation, and distribution of foreign-origin gold through the Bangladesh route.
