Cattle haats along Bangla border a source of smuggling: BSF

Shillong, Feb. 22: Cattle ‘haats’ along the border in neighbouring Bangladesh adjoinging Meghalaya are increasingly becoming a source of cattle smuggling to that country, BSF said today.

Other items too are being smuggled to Bangladesh by the smugglers who run these cattle ‘haats’, the BSF said.

A BSF release said in the past week 270 cattle, nearly 7000 betel nuts, 3.5 kg of ganja, logs and other contraband items worth over Rs 38 lakh were seized in 47 incidents in Meghalaya while being smuggled out to Bangladesh.

Over 100 cattle were seized by BSF patrol parties in the past 36 hours itself in the Meghalaya frontier along the zero line based on information received.

Taking a cue from it, BSF during the day issued orders to its 10,000 personnel to maintain extra vigil at the border to check the menace of smuggling and activities of anti-national elements, it said.

BSF troops deployed at Lyngkhat village in East Khasi Hills district launched special operation and prevented 65 cattle from being smuggled into Bangladesh, a BSF official said.

Four days ago 20 cattle were seized from the same area by the BSF while being smuggled across the border.

In another incident, BSF personnel deployed at Baljora village in West Garo Hills district seized 21 cattle while being smuggled to Bangladesh through a thickly vegetated area, he said adding the special operation party of the force had laid a trap, he added.

Bangladesh and India share a 4,096 km-long international border, the fifth-longest land border in the world. 443 km of it is in Meghalaya.