Indian liquor and other smuggled goods continue to enter Bangladesh through the border areas of Sherpur district in large quantities, despite repeated operations by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police.
The smuggling takes place along a roughly 42-kilometre forested border stretch covering Nalitabari, Jhenaigati and Sreebardi upazilas, adjacent to India’s Meghalaya state.
Although law enforcement agencies regularly seize drugs and other contraband from the area, the alleged masterminds behind the smuggling networks remain largely unidentified and at large.
Local sources said some carriers, including truck, auto-rickshaw and van drivers, had been arrested in connection with the smuggling. However, the people allegedly controlling the networks have yet to be brought to justice.
Residents of several border villages alleged that some suspects arrested with drugs were released in exchange for money. They also claimed that smugglers sometimes received advance information about law enforcement operations and abandoned contraband in forests before fleeing. These allegations could not be independently verified.
A border source also alleged that members of India’s Border Security Force (BSF) helped facilitate drug smuggling into Bangladesh. The allegation could not be independently verified.
According to the Mymensingh 39 BGB Battalion, the force seized smuggled goods and narcotics worth Tk 17.11 crore from the hilly border areas between January 1 and September 15 this year.
Of the total seized goods, narcotics accounted for Tk 4.43 crore, while other smuggled products brought in without paying applicable duties were valued at Tk 12.68 crore.
The BGB recorded information on 43 suspects in connection with the offences. Of them, 24 were arrested during operations and handed over to police under established procedures. The remaining 19 suspects allegedly fled during operations, but their identities were established and legal action was initiated against them, according to the battalion.
Lieutenant Colonel Nurul Azim Bayezid, commander of the Mymensingh 39 BGB Battalion, said the force would show no leniency towards smugglers and drug traders operating along the border.
“There is no scope for showing the slightest leniency to smugglers and drug traders along the border. Those who consider the remote hilly routes safe corridors for crime will have their hideouts dismantled,” he said.
He added that neither the offenders targeting children, adolescents and young people nor the alleged masterminds behind them would be spared.
Despite the seizures and repeated enforcement operations, the continued flow of contraband through the Sherpur border has raised questions about whether the networks behind the trade can be dismantled and their principal operators brought to justice.
