An alleged Indian gold smuggler has been arrested along with 89 gold biscuits conducting raid at a village of North 24 Parganas of West Bengal, bordering Bangladesh.
Arrested smuggler was Alok Pal, an inhabitant of village Haldarpara of Gunarmath area under Bonga Police Station.
Indian Border Security Forces (BSF)’s No. 5 battalion personnel seized the gold bars at Alok Pal’s house after conducting raid on Saturday.
The market value of the gold biscuits, weighing about 16 kilograms, is 12 crore rupees in Indian currency. The gold bars were smuggled to India from Bangladesh.
BSF’s South Bengal Frontier’s DIG (Public Relations) AK Arza stated it on Sunday (May 26).
He said BSF personnel deployed at Gunarmath border checkpost conducted a special operation at a house at Haldarpara on Saturday. The suspected house was surrounded. Then searches were carried out in presence of elderly people of the village. During the search, Alok Pal was caught red-handed with the gold bars which he had concealed in a cloth-made belt. Opening the belt, 89 gold biscuits of different weights were found. Then the person was taken to the border checkpost with the seized gold bars.
During the questioning, Alok Pal said he got acquainted with a Bangladeshi gold smuggler in the last week of March this year. The Bangladeshi proposed him if Alok keep the gold consignment hidden in his house, he would receive Rs 400 everyday. Being agreed to the proposal, he joined the work.
The BSF official said arrested Alok earlier served one month in jail for smuggling gold. A case is pending against him at Bonga court.
