Indian SSB Seizes Large Cache of Pumpkin Seeds Smuggled from Nepal, Arrests Two

Rautahat. The Indian Border Security Force (SSB) has seized a large quantity of pumpkin seeds smuggled through various checkpoints in Bara and arrested two individuals allegedly involved in the smuggling.

The intelligence branch of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) 71st Battalion, Motihari, received secret information that a large consignment of pumpkin seeds was being smuggled across the border. According to Vineet Kumar Singh, spokesperson for the SSB headquarters in Piprakothi, the seeds were brought via motorcycle from Bara district in Nepal to Baswaria village (Ghorasahan police station area) in India, collected at one location, and were being loaded onto a truck with license plate UP 42 ET 7862.

Following this information, a joint team was formed in coordination with the DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence), Muzaffarpur. The team increased surveillance near the Laxmipur Laukhan village, approximately 8 kilometers inside India from the INB border pillar number 357 and 3, along the Ghorasahan-Dhaka road section.

During this operation, at around 10 PM on Wednesday night, the truck coming from Baswaria towards Laxmipur Laukhan was stopped, and the driver and co-driver were taken into custody, stated spokesperson Singh.

During preliminary questioning, the driver reportedly admitted that seeds were loaded onto the truck and were being transported towards Delhi. Subsequently, the truck was kept at the SSB camp for security reasons.

This morning, the joint team took the seized truck and the arrested individuals to the DRI office in Muzaffarpur for further investigation and legal action.

The arrested individuals have been identified as 35-year-old Mohammad Hasib from Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, and 31-year-old Mohammad Salman from Barabanki.

A total of 300 sacks of pumpkin seeds were found in the seized truck, with a total weight of 11,550 kilograms. The SSB stated that the estimated value of the consignment is 3.696 million Indian Rupees (nearly 6 million Nepali Rupees) at a rate of 320 Rupees per kilogram in India. This is Nepal