An illegal consignment of Burmese teak estimated at Rs 40 lakh was seized by foresters in Jalpaiguri district on Monday.

Three persons have been arrested in this connection. Sources said a team of Belakoba forest range intercepted a truck loaded with cement bags near Karatowa in Jalpaiguri.

“We took the vehicle to the premises of the forest beat office at Mantadari in Rajganj block. As our men thoroughly searched the truck again, they found Burmese teak logs — a high quality timber — hidden under the cement bags,” said a forest officer.

“The seized logs are Burmese teak. Those were loaded somewhere in Assam. The trio, arrested from the truck, had planned to smuggle it to somewhere in Bihar,” the official added.

Those arrested, from the truck, on charge of smuggling timber were identified as Sanjay Kumar and Kari Pal Singh, both residents of Rajasthan, and Komal Singh, who hails from Madhya Pradesh. The forester said that the cost of the seized teak logs was around Rs 40 lakh. Meanwhile, the BSF apprehended a Bangladeshi resident while he was trying to infiltrate into India on Sunday.BSF sources said a cell phone and Indian and Nepali currencies were seized from Rabiul Islam, a resident of Thakurgaon district of Bangladesh. He has been handed over to the police.