Teens hawk drugs in Karwan Bazar

Around 7:00pm on February 14, a group of five or six young girls aged between 14 and 18 were seen roaming around in front of Tejgaon level crossing.

Wearing worn clothes and torn sandals, they went close to rickshaw-pullers and microbuses standing near the level crossing gate and asking in low voices: "Hey, how many? How many?"

When a passerby or passenger waved at the girls, three or four rushed towards them, racing each other to reach first.

The girl who won that short race was seen bringing out something wrapped in a small, white piece of paper. The transaction happened in a matter of seconds -- the girl handed the small paper package to the passerby in exchange for money and went back to the spot she was occupying before her business venture.

The customer also disappeared from the spot.

After observing closely and talking to some passersby and rickshaw-pullers, who were seen buying those small packages from the girls, it was learnt that the packages contained yaba pills and marijuana leaves.

Not revealing the identity of a reporter, these correspondents then talked to two of the girls selling narcotics standing on the railway track. They said they sold one small pack of marijuana for Tk 100 and per piece of yaba for Tk 300.

Visiting the area between Tejgaon level crossing and Karwan Bazar wholesale fish market over the last week, over 100 such young girls were seen either standing on the railway track or beside it and selling the drugs packed inside the small white papers.

They hide the narcotics in their clothes and in special cloth bags tied around their waists. Although they sell both marijuana and yaba, there is greater demand for the latter.

On February 15, these correspondents visited the Kamarpotti area of Karwan Bazar, near the rail tracks, and spent around 90 minutes observing some seven to eight young girls busy selling the narcotics.

At one point, a youth aged around 25 ran towards the girls and whispered something to them.

Within a couple of seconds, the area was deserted as the girls ran off in different directions.

A couple of minutes later, a police van stopped at the place and two police personnel got out. After spending a few minutes there, they left.

Half an hour later, the girls returned to the spot, some alone and others in groups of two.

The Daily Star talked to a couple of rickshaw-puller, who bought the narcotics from the girls.

One said he bought a small packet of marijuana. "I bought the drugs from the area as it is easily available here."

When asked about police, the rickshaw-puller said sometimes people introducing them as police sources stopped him and tried to search him. "When I pay them Tk 200, they just allow me to go on my way. It happens once or twice a month."

Not just rickshaw-pullers, but students, traders and various service holders buy narcotics from the area while travelling on CNG-run auto-rickshaws, private cars and sometimes in microbuses, according to locals who witnessed the transactions.

They said some 30 people identifying themselves as police sources controlled the narcotics business in the area and collected money in the name of managing police.

Md Salauddin Mia, officer-in-charge of Tejgaon Police Station, admitted that yaba and marijuana are sold on the Karwan Bazar railway tracks and nearby areas.

"We often conducted drives and arrested narcotics traders, mostly women, from the area, but they managed to obtain bail within a couple of days and again got involved in the same activities," he said.

Asked about "police sources" aiding the narcotics business, OC Salauddin denied the allegation and told this newspaper yesterday that they did not conduct any drives after taking help from any source.

"We will definitely take action against people if we get any specific complaints."

For alleged involvement in helping and aiding narcotics dealers, the Tejgaon Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police recommended departmental action against 17 police officials in July last year. As per the recommendation, the DMP suspended the officials.

Asked about the narcotics business continuing in the presence of police, Harun-ur-Rashid, deputy commissioner of Tejgaon Division Police, told The Daily Star yesterday that it is not possible to stop the business in a day.

"Our drive against narcotics is underway and we are taking action against the responsible ones," said the deputy commissioner.