Border Patrol Halts Smuggling of Currency and Sugar at India‑Nepal Frontier

The Armed Border Force (SSB) announced on Tuesday that its troops seized more than ₹1.6 million in cash and a batch of brown sugar near the India‑Nepal border in Siliguri, West Bengal.

During a routine patrol at the BIT New Bridge in Panitanki, SSB soldiers from the 41st Battalion conducted a search of public transport passengers. They found ₹800,000 in ₹500 notes hidden in the belongings of a Nepali traveler from the Khotang area. The individual, 27‑year‑old Bigyan Rai, could not justify the unrecorded cash.

A second inspection later that afternoon stopped a private vehicle heading toward Nepal. Officers uncovered another ₹844,500 inside the car. The driver, 37‑year‑old Sukram Tamang from Sikkim’s Gangtok district, was taken into custody.

Both men, the seized money and the car have been handed over to the customs department for further processing. The SSB reminded that transferring cash across the border without declaration violates customs regulations.

On the same day, a joint operation with Bihar police at Bhatgaon resulted in the seizure of 543 g of brown sugar and the arrest of two suspects, Mohammad Umar and Mohammad Farukh. The force highlighted that regular intelligence‑driven patrols are essential to intercepting smuggling, human trafficking, and other illegal activities along the frontier.