Agartala: BSF on Tuesday caught 23 Bangladeshi smugglers while they were trying to smuggle 6,250 kg of sugar from India to their country. The officers provided this information. Acting on specific information regarding cross-border smuggling of sugar, alert BSF troops conducted an ambush in Samarganj area under South Tripura district and nabbed the Bangladeshi smugglers when they were on their way, a paramilitary force official said. They were crossing the international border to receive the sugar consignment. Their counterparts on the Indian side.
The official said 125 bags of sugar weighing 6,250 kg and 17 mobile phones were recovered from the areas in the possession of the captured Bangladeshi smugglers. Of the 23 Bangladeshi smugglers, 22 are from the border area of Feni district (Bangladesh) and one is from Chattogram district. Immediately after the detention of the smugglers, BSF officials tried to contact their counterpart Border Guards Bangladesh to organize a flag meeting, but the meeting could not be held till late afternoon. The captured Bangladeshi smugglers were handed over to Tripura Police after medical examination.
BSF officials said Tripura has witnessed an increase in cross-border smuggling of sugar through the India-Bangladesh border in recent years. In 2023, BSF had seized 5.50 lakh kg of sugar from 16 cross-border smugglers and 27 vehicles. So far this year, BSF troops have seized more than 2.11 lakh kilograms of sugar from 34 cross-border smugglers and 14 vehicles.
