Benapole land port's largest-ever currency seizure

Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) has detained seven Hundi traders transporting nearly Tk3 crore's-worth of foreign currency, at Amrakhali check post in Benapole.

Billal Hossain, 28; Abdus Salam, 30; Iqbal Sardar, 27; Mirazul Islam, 22; Jahangir Alam, 44; Kabir Hossain, 33; and Saiful Islam, 34, were arrested when they tried to enter India with the smuggled money, on Friday.

All of them hail from Shariatpur district.                                             

The detainees were carrying over a quarter of a million US dollars, £70,000, Rs5,090, credit cards, mobile phones, and Bangladeshi passports.  

This is the largest-ever currency seizure at the Benapole land port, Lt Col Selim Reza, 49 BGB commanding officer, said. 

Selim said: "Based on a tip-off, a BGB team raided a South Line Paribahan bus and seized the foreign currencies, at Amrakhali check post."

The traders had visited India 24-40 times in the past, Selim said. 

They have been handed over to Benapole port police and a case has been filed in connection with the incident.