Drug smuggling rampant thru' C'nawabganj border
22kg heroin, 6.3kg cocaine, seized in 6 months
Chapainawabganj border has become a safe route for drug smuggling and their dispatch to Dhaka and other areas of the country.
An organised gang of smugglers, mostly from Alatuli and Shahjahanpur unions of Sadar upazila, dispatch the drugs via Godagari of Rajshahi to other places of the country, said sources in the area. They have built a strong network in the region taking advantage of people's poverty.
Twenty-two kg of heroin, 6.3 kg of cocaine, 29 kg of hemp, 21,579 bottles of phensidyl were recovered in the area in last six months, said sources of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Narcotics Control Department.
At least 1224 contraband injections and 127grams of morphine were also recovered during the period.
The seized amount is only a small fraction of the smuggled drugs, BDR and Narcotics officials said.
BDR in separate raids on Sunday and Monday night seized heroin and cocaine worth over Tk 5.2 crore from bordering Purbo Kodalkati and Uttar Kodalkati villages in Alatuli union in Chapainawabganj Sadar upazila.
Acting on a tip, border guards recovered 2.6 kg cocaine from Uttar Kodalkati village at about 8:30pm on Sunday and 2.6 kg heroin from Purbo Kodalkati village the next evening.
In the biggest haul in recent times, BDR recovered 7.5 kg heroin and 100 gram cocaine on May 4 from smugglers at Hakimpur village in Sadar upazila, BDR sources said.
Most of the smuggled drugs are carried to different areas of the country by buses, goods-laden trucks and other transports from areas close to the border, sources said.
Drug traffickers mostly use Alatuli and Shshjahanpur unions for their 'convenient' geographical position, locals said. The two unions are close to the border and virtually isolated from the district headquarters by the Padma River as there is no road links to the two unions.
The smugglers use poor people, mainly women and children as carriers, BDR sources said.
With easy availability of different kinds of drugs, drug abuse has spread to rural areas in most border areas of Chapainawabganj district.
A joint drive by law enforcers will be launched soon to nab drug smugglers, Maj Syed Abu Hasan of 39 Rifles Battalion, told this correspondent. He also suggested launching a campaign by the administration, socio-cultural organisations and NGOs against the menace.
When contacted, sources in the Department of Narcotics Control in Chapainawabganj said their prime duty is to detect drugs and their use inside the country. They have nothing to do with checking smuggling, which is the duty of law enforcers, they said.
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