Border Security Force (BSF) jawans caught a sixth-grade boy smuggling gold worth ₹1.64 crore at the Bithari border in Swarupnagar, North 24 Parganas, on Thursday evening. The boy, a resident of Daharkanda village, was intercepted while attempting to deliver a black polythene bag containing 11 gold biscuits.
According to BSF sources, the 12-year-old was allegedly acting on instructions from his parents to deliver “metal objects” to a specific location. Acting on a tip-off from an intelligence source, BSF personnel of the 143rd Battalion, who were patrolling the area, detained the minor.
“Upon searching his bag, the jawans recovered 11 gold biscuits weighing 1.286 kilograms. Initial investigations suggest that the gold was smuggled into India from Bangladesh. The BSF handed over the recovered gold to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials, while the boy was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board remanded to a state-run facility.
Basirhat District Superintendent of Police Hossain Mehedi Rahman confirmed that the minor was later handed over to Swarupnagar police for further questioning. “The child claimed his father instructed him to leave the bag in a field in the area. We are verifying his statement and searching for his father,” Rahman said.
Authorities suspect that smugglers may be using minors as couriers to evade detection. Investigators are now probing whether the boy was coerced or knowingly involved in the smuggling operation.
“Recovering over one kilogram of gold from a 12-year-old is deeply concerning,” a senior BSF officer said, adding, “We have heightened vigilance along the border to ensure such incidents do not recur.”
The incident has once again highlighted the ongoing problem of cross-border smuggling between India and Bangladesh. Despite increased surveillance and multiple operations by both the BSF and local police, illegal trade — particularly gold smuggling — continues to plague sensitive stretches like the Bithari and Basirhat borders.
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