The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has seized 108kg of gold being smuggled from China near the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh and arrested two persons, sources said.
“This is the biggest amount of gold recovered by the ITBP in its history. The seized material will be handed over to the customs department,” said an ITBP official.
The seizure was made in the wee hours of Tuesday during a long-range patrolling operation launched in the southern sub-sector, covering areas such as Chismule, Narbula Top, Zangle and Zakla. The ITBP team was deployed to check infiltration and smuggling attempts along the border.
Besides the huge quantity of smuggled gold (108 gold bars, each weighing 1kg), the seizure included two mobile phones, a pair of binoculars, two knives and China-made cakes and milk, the official said.
The ITBP had got inputs of smuggling in Sriraple, 1km from the LAC, the official said, adding that the patrolling party headed by deputy commandant Deepak Bhat noticed two people on mules and asked them to stop.
Smuggling activities along the frontier increase during the summer.
However, they tried to escape but were arrested after a chase. Initially, they claimed that they were working as medicinal plant dealers but a search of their belongings led to the recovery of the huge quantity of gold and other items. The smugglers have been identified as Tsering Chamba and Stanzin Dorgyal, both residents of Ladakh’s Nyoma area.
