Cash smuggling bid foiled, Rs 2.5 crore seized in Northeast

Guwahati: In the ongoing drive against the black money, the Income-Tax sleuths and Border Security Force recovered more than Rs 2.50 crore in two separate raids.

The I-T sleuths which conducted a surprise raid in a shop in central Assam’s Nagaon district recovered Rs 2.30 crore including new currency in large number.

The raid was conducted in the Mahim Store in Bor Bazaar area of Nagaon. Though I-T sleuths were tight-lipped about the recovery, sources said that raid was conducted on the basis of specific intelliegnce input on existence of huge currency with the business house.

Meanwhile, a special intelligence unit of the BSF seized Rs 29.73 lakh in new currency notes from two persons from Assam close to the international border with Bangladesh near Tura in Meghalaya on Wednesday.

The duo, travelling on a two-wheeler, was intercepted outside the border village of Nokchi, 8 km from Purakhasia, as they were passing through the Barengapara-Dalu border sector. They have been identified as Nasib Miya and Bilal Hossain, both residents of Pubergram village in Assam’s Mankachar.

When they were frisked, the BSF team found Rs 29,73,205 in Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 currency notes as well as some Rs 100 notes. When asked about the money, the duo said it belonged to a cloth merchant in Assam and was meant to be handed over to a coal exporting company at Gasuapara. But they could not explain how they managed to get it.

The BSF has handed over the recovery to the I-T department for further investigation as security agencies have not ruled out the involvement of some militant groups working behind to smuggle the currency to Bangladesh.