AGARTALA: Border Security Force (BSF) has nabbed 23 Bangladeshi smugglers in Samarganja, South Tripura district.
The arrests came as BSF troops intercepted an attempted smuggling of over 6,000 kg of sugar across the Indo-Bangladesh border.
The operation was conducted based on specific intelligence regarding trans-border smuggling activities, a national news agency reported on February 6.
Troops were deployed at Samarganj, where they intercepted a group of approximately 30 Bangladeshi smugglers who had crossed the international border to receive a consignment of sugar from their Indian counterparts.
Upon search and seizure, authorities recovered 6,250 kg of sugar packed in 125 bags, along with 17 mobile phones.
The majority of the arrested individuals hail from Feni district, with one individual from Chittagong in Bangladesh.
Following the arrest, an FIR was registered, and the Bangladeshi smugglers were handed over to local police for further legal action.
This incident sheds light on the increasing trend of trans-border sugar smuggling through the Indo-Bangladesh border in Tripura.
In 2023 alone, 16 smugglers were apprehended, and a staggering 5.49 lakh kg of sugar was seized along the border, according to official records.
This recent bust marks the second significant arrest within the past 10 days in Tripura. On January 28, five Bangladeshi nationals were arrested at the Agartala Railway Station en route to Maharashtra.
Acting on a tip-off, Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel detained the individuals during a search operation on the Kanchanjungha Express before its departure for West Bengal.
