BSF troops of South Bengal Frontier at Border Out Post Betai with 1,66,900 US dollars

On Thursday, the Border Security Force (BSF) thwarted an attempt to illegally smuggle foreign currency valued at ₹1.39 crore at the International Border in West Bengal. The intelligence unit of the BSF alerted the patrolling Jawans about a possible smuggling operation near the Betai outpost in West Bengal's Nadia district, it said in a released statement.

"BSF personnel foiled an attempt to smuggle foreign currency at the International Border Of Dist- Nadia (West Bengal) in their area of responsibility and seized 1,66,900 US Dollars when smugglers were trying to smuggle this amount of foreign currency from India to Bangladesh. The value of the seized US Dollars in Indian currency is ₹1,39,01,101," said a senior BSF officer.

The incident unfolded around 10 pm on January 3, near the BSF border outpost Betai. The BSF intelligence branch alerted on-duty jawans about smugglers bringing foreign money into their area. The vigilant jawans, with the intel, set up an ambush where the smuggling was supposed to happen.

When the jawans noticed suspicious movement, they surrounded the smugglers. Taking advantage of the dark and fog, the smugglers ran back to India. After searching the area, they found four bundles with US$ 1,66,900. The troops took the money for further legal action. The seized US dollars have been handed over to the Chapra Customs Office for further legal proceedings.

AK Arya, Public Relations Officer of BSF South Bengal Frontier, stated that the incident merely reflects the vigilance demonstrated by the on-duty Jawans. He said that people must refrain from resorting to smuggling. Arya further said that the border's security forces would not tolerate smuggling or any form of criminal activities, pledging to take strict actions against those involved.