Naveen Kumar Rai, the second-in-command of the Siliguri Frontier of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) that guards the India-Nepal and India-Bhutan borders, has been conferred with the Director General’s “Star Golden Disc” award for arresting a Chinese gold smuggler.
On Friday, Sudhir Kumar, the inspector-general of the frontier, handed over the award to Rai at a function held at the Teesta Maidan in Ranidanga on the outskirts
of Siliguri.
Sources said Peng Yong Jin, the smuggler, was wanted in Nepal for smuggling more than 10 quintals of gold.
On July 19, 2023, Jin, carrying a Nepali passport that he had managed to obtain illegally, was crossing the India-Nepal border at Panitanki, which is around 40km from here.
“Jin had plans to enter India and head for China or Hong Kong, as the Nepali agencies were in search of him and had also alerted Interpol. He, however, was stopped by the Border Interaction Team (BIT) of SSB because of his suspicious activities, and it was Rai who conducted a probe and confirmed his identity,” said a source.
Till date, the Chinese smuggler has not managed to get bail. The case is pending in court.
During the course of the investigation, the SSB also found out that in 2016, he was arrested by the Delhi police for smuggling red sanders in India. He somehow got the bail and fled to Nepal. There, he branched into gold smuggling under the guise of running a casino.
Kumar, the IG, who retired from service the same day, congratulated Rai warmly. “It was a major arrest made by Naveen Kumar Rai. Thus, he was recognised with the special honour,” Kumar said.