Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized smuggled goods worth more than Tk 307.65 crore during drives conducted across border areas and other parts of the country in June.
The recovered contraband included 5.592 kg of gold, 18,015 sarees, 3,252 three-piece sets, shirts, shawls and blankets, 9,551 ready-made garments, 189,018 cosmetic items, 1,754,543 pieces of fireworks, 7,464 cubic feet of timber, 7,316 kg of tea leaves, 4,270 kg of betel nuts, 101,776 kg of coal, 174,898 packets of bidis and cigarettes, 497 mobile phones, 1,865 mobile displays, 41,162 mobile phone components, 15,056 electrical items, 22,612 pairs of eyeglasses, 52,736 kg of cumin, 4,285 kg of garlic, 18,798 kg of sugar, 10,224 kg of fertiliser, 1,141,169 shrimp fry, 3,282 litres of edible oil and petroleum products, 2,276 packets of pesticides, 591,419 units of various medicines, 694 kg of seeds, and 1,239 vehicle spare parts.
BGB also seized a large number of vehicles allegedly used in smuggling, including 11 trucks and covered vans, five pickups, three private cars and buses, three tractors, 20 trolleys and microbuses, 68 CNG-run auto-rickshaws, easy bikes and auto-rickshaws, 35 motorcycles, and 53 bicycles and vans, according to a PID hanout.
During the month, BGB personnel also recovered a cache of firearms and explosives, including eight local and foreign pistols, one rifle, 16 magazines, 630 rounds of ammunition, two mines, six grenades, and six other weapons.
The border force seized a significant quantity of narcotics and intoxicating substances during anti-smuggling drives. These included 3,779,352 Yaba tablets, 18.150 kg of crystal meth (Ice), 607 grams of heroin, 1,422 bottles of Phensedyl, 6,838 bottles of foreign liquor, 395 litres of locally made liquor, 3,268 cans of beer, 1,710.470 kg of cannabis, 184,633 narcotic tablets and injections, 24,201 bottles of various syrups, and 82,715 pieces of different medicines and tablets.
According to the handout, 212 suspected smugglers were detained in connection with smuggling of Yaba and other contraband during the month.
BGB also detained 47 Bangladeshi nationals, one Indian national, and 284 Myanmar nationals for illegally crossing the border.