3 syndicates smuggling arms through Jashore: DB

Three trans-border syndicates have been smuggling arms into Bangladesh from India using the Putkhali border point of Jashore for last five years, the Detective Branch (DB) of police yesterday claimed to have unearthed.

Each syndicate has at least five members -- three in Bangladesh and two in India -- and they supplied firearms to criminals and political goons on demand, they said, adding that a public representative, narcotics dealers and cattle traders were found working as members of the syndicates.

DB claimed to have made the breakthrough from the confessional statement of Hafizur Rahman, an alleged syndicate member who was arrested early on Tuesday with four firearms from the capital’s Mirpur.

Hafizur gave the statement under section 164 to a Dhaka court yesterday, after end of his two-day police remand. The court later sent him to jail.

“We have come to know that three syndicates are involved in narcotics and arms smuggling via the Jashore border,” Muharram Ali, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of DB police, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Police are now verifying the names and activities, he added.

Habibur Rahman, a union parishad member of ward-2 of Putkhali in Jashore’s Sharsha upazila was named one of the syndicate members, claimed detectives. He was elected three years back, and is leading  one of the syndicates, they added. 

Hafizur gave details about syndicate’s activities and said he came to Dhaka to deliver four firearms to a person on instruction of Habibur, said Mashiur Rahman, deputy commissioner (north) of DB police.

Habibur could not be reached over phone for comment. 

Md Hadiuzzaman, chairman of Putkhali union parishad, said Habibur is an “outsider” who joined Awami League and was involved with BNP-Jamaat politics earlier, and he did not know much about Habibur’s activities.

“We had information that he was involved in gold smuggling and cattle trade, but we never heard that he has links with arms smuggling,” he said.

Asked about his whereabouts, Hadiuzzaman said Habibur was not regular in the upazila chairman’s office, and that he did not know about his current location.

BIHAR-KOLKATA-JASHORE-DHAKA

Zillur Rahman is another member of the arms syndicate, who has links to arms factories in Bihar of India, said a DB official, quoting the arrestee as saying.

Using the Indian part of the syndicate, demand for firearms are first placed to the factory in Bihar. Later, the arms are brought to Kolkata, and kept at Bonogram area of Angrail village in North 24 Parganas.

Finally, these are pushed inside Bangladesh territory using the Putkhali border point of Jashore, which then make their way to Dhaka, said the official, requesting anonymity.

 ADC Muharram Ali said the Indian syndicate buys the firearms for around Tk 20,000 each, but the Bangladesh part members have to pay Tk 30,000 to the Indian side.

But the firearms are sold for Tk 50,000 to Bangladeshi criminals, which goes up to Tk 70,000 during political turmoil and election periods, he said.

DB officials said they first got trace of the syndicate in 2018 during a robbery in Dhaka, and finally got the details following arrest of Hafizur.

According to detectives, the smugglers first packed the arms in special plastic, and carried those through Ichamati river along the Putkhali border point, which were later collected by Bangladeshi members of the ring.

Arrested Hafizur used to work as a cattle trader earlier, and has been involved in narcotics and arms trade for the last five years, said ADC Muharram Ali.

Recently, he started working exclusively as an arms smuggler after Indian cattle stopped coming to Bangladesh. In recent times, Hafizur brought three shipments in Dhaka and he handed over eight firearms to criminals, Muharram said.

“We have also got some clue about the buyer in Dhaka, and are now conducting drives to arrest the criminal,” added the ADC.

An official of DB said they also learnt of identity of the syndicate’s Indian members, and would inform Indian law enforcers.