A joint operation conducted by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) led to the seizure of ten tonnes of smuggled Indian cumin in Sarail upazila, Brahmanbaria. Officers intercepted the consignment on Thursday morning at around 9:30 am on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway. Three individuals accompanying the illicit cargo were taken into custody at the scene.
The operation was formally confirmed in a press release issued by the BGB 25 Battalion on Thursday afternoon.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Faisal Abir, Azizul Hakim, and Habibur Rahman, hailing from the Sylhet and Rajshahi districts. According to border security officials, intelligence units had received specific tips indicating that a large consignment of Indian spices, illegally brought across the border, was being transported towards the capital via the Sylhet-Dhaka corridor.
Acting on these reports, a joint security team established a checkpoint in the Shahbazpur area of Sarail upazila. Upon intercepting a Dhaka-bound lorry originating from Sylhet, officers conducted a thorough search of the vehicle. Security personnel uncovered 10,020 kilograms—over ten metric tonnes—of Indian cumin concealed inside plastic sacks within the cargo hold.
When asked to produce customs documentation, import permits, or official clearance papers for the commercial goods, the three men inside the vehicle were unable to provide any valid paperwork. Concluding that the shipment was brought into the country through illegal channels to evade government duties, law enforcement seized the consignment alongside the lorry.
Commanding Officer of BGB 25 Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Jabbar Ahmed, confirmed that law enforcement agencies have intensified patrols and intelligence operations across key transit routes near the eastern border to curb cross-border smuggling. Legal proceedings against the three suspects are currently underway, and both the seized contraband and the detainees are being handed over to Sarail Police Station for further prosecution.



