BSF seized contraband worth Rs 150 cr, held 115 Rohingyas and 285 B'deshi nationals this year

Guwahati/Agartala, Dec 2

The Border Security Force (BSF), which guards the 1,880 km India-Bangladesh borders along Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam, has seized durgs, cattle and various other contrabands valued at around Rs 150 crore in the current year.

The BSF, which has four frontiers in the northeastern region, also arrested 115 Rohingyas and 285 Bangladeshi nationals between January and November this year.

BSF officials said that highest quantity of durgs, cattle and various other contrabands valued at around Rs 84.87 crore was by the Mizoram and Cachar (Assam) frontier, followed by Rs 27.53 crore by the Tripura frontier, Rs 25 crore by the Meghalaya frontier and Rs 11.72 crore by the Guwahati frontier.

The Inspector General of BSF's Guwahati frontier, Kamaljit Singh Banyal, said that the para-military force faces varied challenges in securing the international borders because of the terrain, demography, social-economic dynamics and indulgence of few elements of border population from both India and Bangladesh in trans-border crimes.

BSF's Tripura frontier Inspector General Sumit Sharan said that besides trans-border smuggling and illegal infiltration and exfiltration, the border guarding force has been maintaining close vigil to curb illegal trade of various drugs and arms and ammunition.

Mizoram and Cachar frontier IG Binay Kumar Jha said the BSF has been making all-out efforts to reduce all types of border crimes, including drugs and cattle smuggling, to create a sense of security among the border population.