Kolkata, July 5 (IANS): In a joint operation with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), troops of the 68 Battalion of Border Security Force (BSF) seized 9.572 kg gold worth around Rs 6.9 crore in West Bengal's Nadia district, officials said on Friday.

Seven smugglers were also taken into custody after four consecutive raids at Seemanagar on State Highway No. 11 on Thursday, and Rs 11,58,500 unaccounted cash was seized from their possession.

"The DRI shared intelligence inputs with the BSF regarding the smuggling of gold into India from Bangladesh. After cross-checking the inputs, BSF jawans, accompanied by DRI officials, launched a comprehensive search of the vehicles plying on the highway.

"During the search of a Maruti Eco car, gold bars weighing 4.8 kg were seized and two smugglers were arrested. Four other smugglers were apprehended with 4.82 kg gold bars after that. A search was then carried out at a house in Ramnagar village from where a man was nabbed with a gold biscuit and unaccounted cash. The seized gold is valued at Rs 6,86,23,582," said A.K. Arya, DIG and spokesperson, BSF, South Bengal Frontier.

Those arrested are all from the Nadia district.

During interrogation, the main accused confessed that he had been involved in gold smuggling for a long time. On Thursday, he was to carry a portion of the gold to Krishnanagar and hand it over to an unknown person who would pay him Rs 3,000.

In 2022, he had been arrested by the BSF with 16 gold biscuits and he is out on bail in that case.

The remaining six claimed that they had collected the gold from Karimpur along the India-Bangladesh border, and were to hand it over to people at the Dum Dum railway station in Kolkata. They were to receive anything between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 for this.

All the smugglers, along with the gold, have been handed over to the DRI, Arya said.