Agartala, March 04, 2024: The Border Security Force (BSF) has seized a huge quantity of Indian goods worth Rs 4,37,15,589 while being smuggled from Tripura to Bangladesh in the last six months, the state assembly was informed on Monday.

Chief Minister Prof Dr Manik Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, said that the BSF had intercepted various items, including drugs, clothes, cattle, sugar, and foreign currency, from August 01, 2023 to January 31, 2024 along the 856-km long border between the two countries.

He was replying to a question raised by CPIM MLA Jitendra Chaudhury, who sought details of the smuggling activities and the steps taken by the government to curb them.

According to the data provided by the Chief Minister, the BSF had seized 2212.87 kgs of cannabis worth Rs 1,10,64,350; 11,411 bottles of cough syrup worth Rs 21,22,886; 2047 tablets worth Rs 1,02,350; 32.83 grams of heroin worth Rs 3,28,300; 248 bundles of clothes worth Rs 2,31,05,900; Bangladeshi currency 10,53,593 taka; 71 cattles worth Rs 21,10,000; 29,900 kgs of sugar worth Rs 14,95,000; and many more items like foreign liquors, Bolero Pick-Up van, mobile sets, etc.

He further said that the BSF had registered 14 cases in connection with these seizures and arrested 26 smugglers, who were handed over to the local police for further action.

He added that the state government was working in close coordination with the BSF and other agencies to prevent cross-border smuggling and illegal activities.

He also appealed to the people living in the border areas to cooperate with the security forces and report any suspicious movement or activity to them.