300 quintal sugar seized

Statesman News Service

MALDA. July 3: The Hilli Land customs and BSF jawans today seized nearly 300 quintal sugar that were being smuggled to Bangladesh, officials said. Traders had been trying to export sugar to Bangladesh through the Hilli Land customs station in South Dinajpur, allegedly without legal documents, sources said. Authorities said that after a recent prohibitory order issued by the Union commerce ministry, the land customs officials have been strictly monitoring the items being exported to Bangladesh through land customs stations in this state. Smuggling of sugar to Bangladesh from Malda and South Dinajpur was high and it was alleged that some exporters were smuggling essential commodities through Hilli land port. Officials said that some exporters show legal papers of a particular item but send many other items. Today they were trapped, they said. The BSF officials said they could not intercept the lorries despite having information as the matter of export was looked after by the Land Customs Station. “We can act only if the LCS officials allow us to do so,” they said. It will be recalled that on 29 June, nearly 100 MT of masoor pulses were allegedly exported to Bangladesh through the Mahadipur Land Customs station in Malda although export of pulses to that country was prohibited.