Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized contraband goods worth a total of Tk 202.63 crore during separate drives in border areas and elsewhere across the country in July.

The seized contraband items included 4.254 kg of gold, 216 diamond nose pins, 7.930 kg of silver, 13,063 sarees, 2,710 three-piece sets, shirts, bed sheets and blankets, 8,886 pieces of ready-made garments, 2,416 metres of cloth, 15,527 pieces of imitation jewellery and 302,394 cosmetic items.

BGB also seized 864,356 pieces of fireworks, 1,751 cubic feet of timber, 221,090 kg of coal, 6,446 kg of tea leaves, 624 mobile phones, 4,360 mobile phone displays and 36,170 mobile phone parts, along with 20,000 various medical equipment.

Other seized items included 71,400 razor blades, 3,700 pairs of spectacles, 47,776 kg of cumin, 42,931 kg of garlic, 13,329 kg of sugar, 12,486 kg of fertiliser, 17,479 kg of current nets, 367 litres of edible oil, diesel, octane, petrol and Mobil, 1,818 packets of pesticides, 694,017 pieces of various medicines and 1.070 kg of snake venom.

The para-military border force also seized 12 trucks and covered vans, eight pickups, three private cars, six trolleys, 55 CNG-run vehicles, easy bikes and autorickshaws, 59 motorcycles, 47 bicycles and vans, and 127 boats used in connection with smuggling, according to a BGB press release issued on Tuesday afternoon.

Among the arms recovered were nine pistols, one rifle, five magazines, 60 rounds of ammunition and seven other weapons.

BGB also seized a large quantity of narcotics and intoxicating substances during the month.

It detained 191 alleged smugglers for their involvement in drug trafficking, including Yaba trafficking, and other smuggling activities during operations along the border.

The force detained 31 Bangladeshi citizens, three Indian citizens and 81 Myanmar citizens for illegally crossing the border.