Personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) recovered suspected snake venom being smuggled to Bangladesh in a glass jar at the Indo-Bangladesh border in Kumarganj in South Dinajpur district last night.
Troops of the BSF’s 81st Battalion at the Kumarganj Border Outpost area in Kumarganj block acted on specific inputs and recovered the suspected snake venom in a special drive.
According to BSF officials, the value of the snake venom is around Rs 12 crore in the international market. The glass jar had the marking ‘made in France,’ the officials said. However, the BSF was not able to arrest anyone in this connection.
The recovered jar was handed over to the Balurghat Forest Department. “The BSF has started investigations into the matter. The higher authorities of the BSF’s 61st Battalion and the staff of the Balurghat Forest Department have started the investigations jointly,” a source said.
“The suspected snake venom contains crystalline particles. As per preliminary investigations, the snake venom was being sent to China through Bangladesh,” the source added.
It is learnt that the BSF has recovered such suspected snake venom in South Dinajpur district more than once in the past too. “The recovery of the snake venom in the district once again has proved that smugglers are using the South Dinajpur corridor as their silk route,” said one BJP leader, Bapi Sarkar.
Samir Sikder, the Range Officer of the Balurghat Forest Department, said, “The BSF jawans have deposited a glass jar containing some crystal particles, which is suspected snake venom.
“We will send the jar to our higher authorities for laboratory tests. We can say what the matter in the jar is for sure only after receiving the test reports from the laboratory. The BSF has been making such recoveries in the past few months.”