Smuggling of cattle, FICN continues unabated along Indo-Bangladesh border

Smuggling of cattle and fake currency continued along the India-Bangladesh border in 2022 with data showing that as many as 18288 cattle and Rs 2073200 of FICN was seized throughout the year.

New Delhi: Smuggling of cattle and fake Indian currency continued unabated along the India-Bangladesh border last year. According to government statistics, the Guwahati frontier of Border Security Force (BSF) alone seized 8,684 cattle in 2022 whereas a total of 18288 cattle from the 4096 km long India-Bangladesh border were seized during the year.

In 2021 and 2020, 21917 and 46,809 cattle respectively were seized along the border. The worrying aspect, however, has been the involvement of BSF personnel in cattle smuggling. The BSF court-martialled 33 personnel in cattle smuggling cases in 2021. A senior BSF official said that whenever the involvement of BSF personnel comes to light they conduct a thorough investigation and take appropriate disciplinary action as per the rules.

Meanwhile, Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) smuggling was also a major challenge for the security agencies. In 2022, BSF seized Rs 2073200 of FICN in 2022. Of the total seized FICN, 1137100 have been seized by the Mizoram and Cachar frontier of BSF, followed by 513000 FICN by Guwahati frontier of BSF, and 333500 FICN by South Bengal frontier of the border guarding agency.

As per the government statistics, 4581 people were apprehended in the eastern frontier by BSF, out of which 220 were apprehended by the Guwahati frontier, 131 by the Meghalaya frontier, 473 by the Mizoram and Cachar frontier, 462 by the North Bengal frontier, 2961 by the South Bennal frontier and 334 by the Tripura frontier.