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🇧🇩 Bangladesh /Energy & Infrastructure

Jashore-Narail Highway Becomes Key Route for Gold Smuggling into India

From Daily Star · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Jashore-Narail highway in Bangladesh is increasingly being used by international syndicates to smuggle gold into India.
  • Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has seized significant quantities of gold and arrested 11 individuals along this route.
  • Smugglers utilize various methods to conceal gold, including in private cars, and exploit the highway's connection between Dhaka and border crossings.

An international gold smuggling syndicate is actively using the Jashore border as a gateway to India, with the Jashore-Narail highway emerging as a primary corridor for this illicit trade. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has conducted numerous operations along the highway, particularly near Nilganj Bridge and Daitala Bridge, resulting in the seizure of substantial gold consignments.

Gold consignments are coming from Dhaka and heading towards the border through Jashore.

— Lieutenant Colonel Golam Mahmud Saiful Alam KhanDescribing the flow of smuggled gold along the Jashore-Narail highway.

Lieutenant Colonel Golam Mahmud Saiful Alam Khan, commanding officer of the Jashore Battalion (49 BGB), confirmed the highway's role as a smuggling route. He stated that gold shipments originate from Dhaka and are transported towards the border via Jashore. Smugglers adapt their routes, sometimes heading for the Sharsha-Benapole border and at other times using the Chaugachha or Satkhira crossings. This indicates the Jashore-Narail highway is a critical link in the longer route connecting the capital to the border, despite heavy surveillance.

BGB reports that gold is typically concealed on carriers' bodies or within private vehicles to evade detection. Between May and August 25 of the current year, the BGB seized nine separate gold consignments in the Nilganj and Daitala areas. These operations led to the arrest of 11 individuals and the recovery of 60 gold bars, weighing approximately 7.122 kilograms and valued at around 14.24 crore Bangladeshi Taka.

This means smugglers are using the Jashore-Narail highway as an important part of the long route connecting the capital with the border.

— Lieutenant Colonel Golam Mahmud Saiful Alam KhanExplaining the strategic importance of the highway for smuggling operations.

Despite these seizures, the masterminds behind the smuggling operations remain at large. Babul Kazi, officer-in-charge (investigation) of Jashore Kotwali Police Station, noted that smugglers perceive the route as relatively safe, leading to its repeated use. The arrested individuals are currently in custody, but the network's leaders continue to evade law enforcement.

smugglers considered the route safe, which was why they kept using it repeatedly.

— Babul KaziExplaining the continued use of the Jashore-Narail highway by smugglers.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Star in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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