Six Bangladeshi nationals held in Tripura, drugs seized

The Border Security Force (BSF) on Friday detained six Bangladeshi nationals including three women and two children in Tripura, officials said.

A BSF spokesman said that based on specific intelligence, the anti-human trafficking unit of the border guarding force detained the Bangladesh nationals and a suspected Indian tout at Teliamura railway station while they were deboarding the Silchar-Agartala Express train. The apprehended Bangladeshi nationals were returning from Bengaluru and had planned to exfiltrate to Bangladesh with the help of the Indian tout.

In another operation, BSF troops of Border Outpost Kullubari in Sepahijala district foiled an attempt to smuggle contraband when a group of smugglers tried to throw a consignment over the border fence. The troops following a subsequent search seized two packets containing a huge quantity of highly addictive 20,000 methamphetamine tablets also known as Yaba tablets, worth Rs 2 crore.

Additionally, in various other operations, Tripura frontier BSF seized foreign cigarettes and other contraband worth Rs 30 lakh.

BSF has intensified its operations along both the 856 km long India-Bangladesh border with Tripura and the hinterland to prevent exfiltration/infiltration and trans-border crimes.

The spokesman said that the BSF remains committed not only to maintaining a high level of alertness along the International Border but also to contributing to the vision of a "Drug-Free Society".

Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides, parts of which are still unfenced in patches due to local disputes on land and demarcation-related issues. The BSF alone last year arrested 55 Rohingyas, 620 Bangladeshi nationals, and 260 Indian nationals, including human traffickers in various operations.

After the unrest began in Bangladesh in June-July, the BSF further intensified its all-out 24X7 vigilance to prevent cross-border movement, infiltration, and numerous crimes.