KOLKATA: The Border Security Force (BSF) seized gold biscuits that were being smuggled across the International Border (IB) from Bangladesh to India in Tehatta, Nadia, on Tuesday.
The six gold biscuits were hidden in the shoes of an Indian farmer who had gone across the International Border Fence (IBF) to till his land that falls within 150 yards of the zero line. The seizure is valued at over Rs 28 lakh.
Gold is cheaper in Bangladesh than in India.
On Wednesday, 10 grams of 24 Carat gold cost Rs 40,000 in Bangladesh while its value in India was nearly Rs 44,000. This effectively means that the 600 grams of gold seized from the smuggler would have fetched a profit of Rs 2,40,000 if sold in India. Even if sold in the black market, the seller would have made Rs 1.8-2.0 lakh.
"What bothers us is where these proceeds from smuggled gold go. There have been several instances in the past where the gold has been handed over to terror outfits for a small fee. The proceeds are then used by the terror outfits. It has happened in Kashmir as well. This is an easy way to send funds to such outfits. Smaller consignments are difficult to detect. Ultimately, terrorists may end up with hundreds of such consignments that would provide them enough funds to carry out a major strike on Indian soil," an official in an intelligence agency said.
According to the BSF, troops of the 84Bn BSF posted at BOP Sahapur received intelligence inputs of possible gold smuggling along that area. The troops laid an ambush and started checking all farmers returning from their fields across the IBF.
Around 11.45am, three persons on a power tiller (a small tractor) towing a trolley loaded with garlic tried to evade the check post at Gate 58 of the Fence and make a run for it. BSF personnel gave chase and succeeded in nabbing two of the men. The third managed to give them the slip.
"We have details of all farmers who go across the IBF to tend to their lands. The three who tried to escape were Biswajit Biswas, Ujjwal Biswas and Himadri Kumar Bala, all from Sahapur village in the Tehatta police station area. While Biswajit managed to escape, the six gold biscuits were found in the shoes of Ujjwal. Both Ujjwal and Himadri claimed that the biscuits belong to Biswajit. That's a common tactic to blame the person who has succeeded in escaping. If the gold belonged to him, why wasn't he carrying it himself? And how can farmers afford so much money," a senior BSF official pointed out.
While the two smugglers and the gold have been handed over to the Customs Office at Tehatta, the CO of the 84Bn BSF has commended his troops for their quick reaction in enforcing 'zero smuggling' and 'zero crime' along the Indo-Bangladesh border as per the campaign launched by the IG, BSF, South Bengal Frontier.