BSF foils arms smuggling attempt at India-Bangladesh border; foreign weapons seized

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stationed at the International Border in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle arms across the border on October 1. According to an official statement, the smugglers were trying to transport contraband weapons from India into Bangladesh. The operation was carried out by Jawans of Border Observation Post (BOP) Madhupur, 68 Battalion, BSF under South Bengal Frontier, as stated in BSF’s official statement. They managed to seize four foreign-made pistols, along with eight magazines and 50 live cartridges. 

The incident occurred at around 12:30 a.m. The Jawans observed three individuals approaching from the Bangladesh side, while another person was seen coming from the Indian side carrying what was deemed as ‘suspicious’ goods by BSF. Upon warning the smugglers and attempting to halt their progress, the soldiers resorted to using ‘non-lethal’ force, the statement added. In response, the smugglers sought refuge in the dense vegetation, fleeing in different directions.

Following the confrontation, a thorough search of the area was conducted by Jawans, leading to the discovery of a bag containing the seized weapons: four foreign-made pistols, eight magazines, and 50 live cartridges, as stated before. These were recovered following the search operation and subsequently handed over to the local police station.

After the successful operation, AK Arya, the Public Relations Officer and Deputy Inspector General of BSF South Bengal Frontier emphasised the role of the BSF's intelligence department in determining the origins of the confiscated weapons. Arya credited the successful prevention of such smuggling attempts to the vigilance exhibited by the dedicated soldiers on duty.