The BSF has stumbled on three large underground “bunkers” stockpiled with ₹1.4 crore worth of the cough syrup Phensedyl in Majhdia, an area in Nadia barely 2km from the Bangladesh border.

BSF authorities suggested the cache was meant to be smuggled across the border, large parts of which are unfenced, for use as a narcotic intoxicant in Bangladesh.

Friday’s discovery, laden with border security implications, comes amid rising bilateral tensions following Sheikh Hasina’s ouster from power.

In a media statement, BSF authorities said the three rectangular bunkers, each 15 feet deep, contained 62,200 bottles of Phensedyl, a Codeine-based cough syrup, valued at approximately ₹1.4 crore.

The three bunkers were built with brick walls and metallic covers, and equipped with locking mechanisms, the BSF said. The border force discovered a fourth bunker – one under construction and lined by metal sheets – on Saturday.

“It’s a serious matter and requires thorough investigation to determine if there are any hidden motives behind constructing these storage facilities, which appear to have been created by smugglers,” a senior BSF officer said.

A BSF spokesperson in Calcutta said: “We are working to uncover more details about this complex smuggling network,which might lead to significant revelations.”

On Friday, a team from the BSF’s 32nd Battalion, based at the Tungi border outpost, conducted a raid on a bush-covered plot in Naghata with assistance from the Krishnaganj police. BSF sources did not reveal the reason for the raid.

During the operation, the BSF stumbled on the three bunkers, described in official BSF communications as “storage tanks”.

“Two of these storage tanks were concealed within dense vegetation, while one was hidden beneath a makeshift hut with corrugated iron sheets,” Nilotpal Kumar Pandey, DIG and spokesperson for the BSF’s South Bengal Frontier, told reporters.

However, the policehad not launched a formal investigation till late on Saturday evening.

One of the three bunkers at Nahata village in Krishnaganj, Nadia, on Friday

“We have not received any complaint from the BSF so far. We are awaiting their communication,” said Amarnath K, superintendent of police, Krishnanagar police district.

The BJP attacked the ruling Trinamool citing the state police’s failure to prevent smuggling.

“The location is near Majhdia town, yet the police seemed unaware of the bunkers’ construction in a residential zone. It was solely due to the BSF’s intelligence that these structures were uncovered,” BJP parliamentarian Jagannath Sarkar said.

The Trinamool reply came through Firhad Hakim. “It’s the BSF’s responsibility to keep the area close to the border safe. The area where the bunkers were spotted is within the command zone of the BSF, which the local police cannot access,” Hakim said.

“The BSF should ensure that no such bunker is constructed close to the border as it could become a very serious security concern.”

Following the bunkers’ discovery, the Bengal police have initiated a fresh search for Susanta Ghosh alias Lal, an alleged smuggler from the area whose house stands near the site of the bunkers.

Ghosh has been in hiding since last year, disappearing after his name surfaced in connection with a smuggling attempt involving Phensedyl.

Local people alleged that Ghosh had recently purchased the plot on which the bunkers were found, but the claim could not be verified.