Drugs enter Jashore border through waterways, cargo trucks

By tying drums under water hyacinths and pulling them along waterways, crossing through gaps in the barbed-wire fence under cover of darkness, and sometimes hidden inside legitimate cargo trucks — drugs are entering the country through the Benapole and Sharsha border areas of Jashore using various innovative methods. After crossing the border, these drugs reach neighborhoods in Jashore and various districts across the country via a specialized network, using trains, motorcycles, private vehicles, and other means of transport. Although law enforcement operations occasionally seize consignments and detain carriers, the main drug traffickers remain beyond reach.

According to local residents and various sources, drug traffickers are active in the border areas of Kayba, Rudrapur, Goga, Agrabhulot, Panchbhulot, Shalkona, Pakshia, Dihi, Shikarpur, and Ramchandrapur in Sharsha, as well as Putkhali, Daulatpur, Gatipara, Sadipur, Raghunathpur, Ghiba, and Dhanyakhola in Benapole. Drugs are entering the country by exploiting difficult border terrain, rivers, and various sections of the barbed-wire fence.

Locals claim that traffickers use special techniques to move drugs across the river at the Goga and Rudrapur border points, hiding drums or floating containers under water hyacinths and pulling them from one side of the river to the other using ropes. Since this is nearly impossible to detect from a distance, the method makes it easy to evade surveillance while moving drugs across.

There are also allegations that drugs are brought in at night through gaps in the barbed-wire fence at the Daulatpur and Sadipur border points within the Benapole Port police station area. According to locals, various intoxicating substances are smuggled across the border through these routes whenever the opportunity arises.

Questions  Raised Over the Port’s Trade Route

Alongside illicit border routes, there are also allegations that drugs are entering the country under the guise of legitimate trade. Several port-related sources and local residents claim that the syndicate attempts to bring in drugs along with Indian cargo trucks; after crossing the border, the drugs are transferred to other means of transport as convenient and sent to various parts of the country.

To evade law enforcement surveillance, traffickers are constantly changing their methods. Instances of drugs being smuggled hidden inside dried chilies, shoes, fish, turtles, or clothing have also come to light at various times.

According to local sources, a large portion of the drugs that enter through the border spreads into Jashore and surrounding areas. Allegations of drug trading in the Putkhali and Daulatpur areas have persisted for a long time, and there are also allegations that young people and college students from Jashore and surrounding areas come to these locations to obtain or use drugs.

Once drugs reach Jashore from the border, they do not stay put — they are distributed to various districts across the country through a supply network, with information also indicating that drugs are transported using buses, trains, motorcycles, private vehicles, and other means.

Drugs Also Widespread in Jashore’s Neighborhoods

Alongside the border, there are also allegations of drug sales in various areas of Jashore town and its outskirts. Local residents have alleged drug trading in areas including Ghop, Barandipara, Mollapara, Bejpara, Bokchar, Shankarpur, R.N. Road, Khaldhar Road, Karbala, Khorki, Palbari, and Kajipara, with the same allegations extending to the outlying areas of Fatepur, Chachra, Sheikhhati, Birampur, and Upashahar.

There are also allegations of the involvement of some political party leaders and activists in drug sales. Locals claim that in some areas, drug trading continues under the shelter and patronage of politically influential figures, though these allegations could not be independently verified.

Regarding this, Mr. Brajendra Nath Gain, Sub-Inspector of the Department of Narcotics Control, Jashore, said special operations against drugs are ongoing. Alongside operations, importance is also being given to raising public awareness, with various programs — including leaflet distribution in neighborhoods — being carried out to make people aware of the dangers of drugs. He said drug traffickers are also being detained and cases filed against them at the relevant police stations.

Jashore’s Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Ops), Mr. Mirajul Islam, said operations against drugs are being carried out every day, and that police maintain a zero-tolerance policy on drugs, with instructions given to every police station, outpost, and camp not to give any leeway on the issue.

Commanding Officer of Jashore’s 49 BGB Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Mr. Golam Mohammad Saiful Alam Khan, said the main masterminds behind the smuggling do not carry the drugs themselves, which is why they cannot always be caught red-handed. However, he said, operations are sometimes carried out based on information provided by carriers, leading to the arrest of the masterminds, and that BGB is making every effort to prevent drugs from entering through the border.