During the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 25, the Border Security Force (BSF) confiscated 89 gold biscuits worth Rs 12 crore at the India-Bangladesh border in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. According to an official statement, vigilant personnel from the Gunarmath Border outpost, 05 Battalion under the South Bengal Frontier, executed a special operation in the village of Haldarpada. They recovered the gold biscuits of varying sizes from the residence of Alok Paul (name changed) after he had smuggled the consignment from Bangladesh to India and was hiding it at his home prior to further distribution.
The release stated, “The total weight of the seized gold is 16.067 Kgs and the estimated market value is Rs 12 crore.”
AK Arya, DIG and spokesperson of South Bengal Frontier, explained, “On May 25, the Jawans of border outpost Gunarmath received information about a very big consignment of gold in a house in the border village Haldarpada. As soon as the information was obtained, a special operation was launched under which the said suspicious house of the village was cordoned off from all sides. After this, the house was searched in the presence of dignitaries of the village. During the search, Alok Paul (name changed) was caught with the consignment of gold which he had hidden in a cloth belt in his house.”
During interrogation, Alok Paul revealed that he connected with a Bangladeshi gold smuggler in the last week of March 2024. The smuggler promised to pay him Rs 400 daily to store the gold consignment at his home, to which he agreed. Subsequently, the smuggler continued to deliver gold consignments to his house. On May 25, 2024, around 12:40 pm, the same smuggler handed him 89 gold biscuits and bricks of various shapes and sizes to conceal in his residence. Paul also disclosed that he had previously spent a month in jail for gold smuggling, and his case is ongoing in Bangaon Court.
The arrested smuggler and the confiscated gold consignment were handed over to the Director of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Kolkata for further legal action.