By Takaloo, Cox’sbazar: More than 300 kilograms of barbed-wire that was smuggled into Bangladesh from Burma's border fence construction sites were seized on Sunday by local police near Ukhia Town in Cox's Bazar District in southern Bangladesh, reports a Bangladesh police source.

The source said that a team of police from the Ukhia Police Station had taken possession of the barbed-wire around 5:00 am from a jeep that was being used to transport it to a local market on the highway near Ukhia College.

Bangladesh's Ukhia Town is situated about ten kilometers southeast of Taungbro in Maungdaw Township in western Burma.

The wire was very strong and of high quality, and was finally determined to have been smuggled from Burma's border fence, added the source.

However, the source refused to give details of the seized jeep or the individuals involved in the smuggling.

According to the source, this is the first case of anyone being caught by Bangladesh law enforcement with goods stolen from the border fence, even though Burma has been constructing the fence for nearly a year.

Border sources report that since the fence project began, the smuggling of cement and steel from Burma's border fence into Bangladesh has occasionally been carried out by the cross-border syndicates.

Burma has already completed the installation of the barbed-wire between the fence pillars for more than half of the proposed 40-mile border fence, which is being constructed with the stated aims of warding off cross-border smuggling and trafficking, said the source.

Local sources say the barbed-wire was smuggled out by some army officials at the construction site for their own personal profit.

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