West Bengal's Potato Smuggling Crackdown: Police Intercept Lorries Amid Rising Prices and Transport Ban

A smuggling attempt resembling a scene from Pushpa came to light as potatoes were transported from West Bengal disguised as animal feed.

The police seize the lorries transporting potatoes to other states from West Bengal despite ban at Duburdihi check post on the Bengal-Jharkhand border on Saturday

Asansol: The scene seemed straight out of Allu Arjun's Pushpa movie, where sandalwood smuggling in milk containers came alive on screen. However, in real life on Saturday, a similar dishonest method was used to smuggle potatoes. Potatoes were being transported from West Bengal to other states under the guise of animal feed consignments. The police, however, caught the truck under strict surveillance. This was captured on camera by ETV Bharat.

Potato prices are soaring in West Bengal. Hence, to control the price of potatoes, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has banned the transport of potatoes from West Bengal to other states. The Asansol-Durgapur Police are keeping tabs on lorries at the Duburdihi check post on the Bengal-Jharkhand border to curb the supply of potatoes to other states. When they found lorries with potatoes they were being diverted back to this state.

A gang was caught smuggling potatoes using lorries with fake invoices. Police stopped them, and several lorries were intercepted and redirected back to West Bengal. However, when one lorry tried to drive away despite the police's blockade, it was eventually stopped. The driver was arrested, but the helper managed to escape.

The truck driver was captured on ETV Bharat's camera near the parking lot of the Duburdihi check post on the Bengal-Jharkhand border. Identified as Biplab Mondal, the driver stated, "We intended to load soil, but the owner forced us to load potatoes. I don’t have details about the invoice; the helper knows about it." The police have since seized the vehicle.

The truck drivers said a broker gave them an invoice that claimed the goods were animal feed. They were told to secretly transport the truck to another state using this invoice. However, the police stopped the truck midway, exposing the smuggling of potatoes.

The police from Kulti Police Station stated that potatoes cannot be transported from West Bengal to other states. They emphasised their commitment to preventing potato smuggling and have been working round-the-clock. Since Friday night, at least 20 trucks carrying potatoes have been intercepted and sent back.