Smugglers using courier services to get narcotics to Dhaka: Rab

Taking advantage of lax monitoring and thin presence of public transport amid the Covid-19 outbreak, smugglers are allegedly using courier services to send narcotics from bordering districts to Dhaka.

They use false identities to avail the services and hire low-income people to receive the consignments from courier offices. The illegal substances are kept hidden in brooms, fruit baskets, rice cookers, rice sacks and baby food.

Officials of Rab-2 claim to have learned about the techniques following the arrest of five smugglers in the last three weeks. During this period, the elite force recovered three narcotics consignments sent to Dhaka from Chapainawabganj and Cox's Bazar.

"Smugglers are using courier services to send narcotics from bordering districts to Dhaka as the presence of public transport has become thin on roads due to the pandemic," Mohammed Mohiuddin Faruqe, a company commander of Rab-2, told The Daily Star.

A huge number of products are coming through courier services every day, and it is impossible for law enforcement officials to seize the goods if there is no specific information, he said.

Mohiuddin added they do not think they can seize more than four to five percent of narcotics entering Dhaka via courier services. The rest reach the dealers.

He suggested the courier service offices should ask for valid proofs of identity from senders and recipients for product booking and receiving.

Khorshid Alam, assistant director of department of narcotics control, also said they have intelligence on courier services being used by narcotics smugglers during this pandemic.

"But we have already increased our vigilance," he added.

Hafizur Rahman Pulok, president of Courier Service Association of Bangladesh, said they have CCTV cameras in booking offices, and whenever anyone comes for booking, the courier staffers check the products in front of the owner.

The phone numbers of senders and recipients are also verified, he added.

"Still, narcotics smugglers sometimes manage to send consignments, but in those cases we always help law enforcers by providing all the necessary information."

In the latest drive, a team of Rab-2 arrested a couple and recovered 500 grams of heroin hidden inside a basket of mangoes and a pressure cooker from a courier service centre on the capital's Elephant Road area on Monday.

Based on a tip-off, Rab conducted the drive around 9:30am and seized heroin worth Tk 50 lakh, said Faruqee, also a superintendent of police.

The arrestees are Habibur Rahman Babu, 29, and Dilruba Dipa, 27, who live in Munshiganj.

For Monday's consignment, they sent a person to the courier service office to receive the goods while waiting in front of New Market.

"We have learnt that this syndicate brings heroin from India and its ringleaders live in the border district of Chapainawabganj," he said.

On May 28, a team of Rab-2 arrested another couple, Sabur Rahman, 32, and Nazma Akter, 28, in Savar and recovered 1.65kg of heroin from their possession.

During interrogation, they confessed to using courier services for narcotics smuggling, said SP Faruqee.

On June 1, Rab-2 officials arrested Mizanur Rahman, 25, from the capital's Dhanmondi and recovered 15,000 pieces of yaba from him. Mizan smuggled in the drugs from Cox's Bazar hiding those inside a broom.

Mizan confessed that he used courier services for drug smuggling in recent times.