Indian truck driver held at Benapole with 20 Bangladeshi passports

Officials at Benapole land port have detained an Indian truck driver carrying 20 Bangladeshi passports, each containing a visa for Siberia.

The incident took place around 11:30 PM on Thursday at the cargo vehicle terminal gate of Benapole port, where security personnel intercepted the driver and seized the passports, said Helaluzzaman, Ansar Commander in charge of port security.

The arrested driver has been identified as Becharam Pramanik, aged 43. The truck’s registration number is WB-25 F-4310.

Helaluzzaman revealed that port authorities had received prior intelligence regarding the illegal transfer of Bangladeshi passports from India via an Indian truck driver. As a result, security measures were heightened at the cargo terminal gate.

According to the commander, after completing activities at the Petrapole port in India, the truck driver entered Bangladesh. Upon arrival at the terminal gate, his bag was thoroughly searched, uncovering the 20 passports.

“All passports contained visas issued for Siberia dated June 24,” Helaluzzaman added. “We suspect these visas were obtained for entry into a European Union country.”

The truck driver has been handed over to the local police for further investigation.