Int'l wildlife smuggling syndicate active in Bangladesh

An international smuggling ring has been using Bangladesh as a route for poaching wild animals, according to officials engaged in investigating recent cases of wildlife smuggling.

Some of these animals such as zebras and horses are believed to carry dangerous diseases.

Some 50 people from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia are members of such a syndicate that recently brought nine zebras to Jashore to send on to India, the officials said.

India is considered the largest market of smuggled wild animals.

In a US state department report published in November last year, Bangladesh was named as a source as well as safe route of wild animal smuggling.

The same smuggling group allegedly brought in lion and tiger cubs earlier.

A few officials of police, customs and forest departments are involved in the smuggling, the officials concerned said.

However, the law enforcement authorities have removed names of kingpins of the gang from cases several times.

The police has provided detailed information of the international gang of poachers to INTERPOL, police headquarters’ additional deputy inspector general (intelligence) M Moniruzzaman told Prothom Alo.

Zebras rescued in Jashore

A team of detective branch of police rescued nine African zebras, including a dead one, from a certain Tutu Mia’s enclosure in Satmail Bazar of Sharsha upazila in Jashore in the night of 8 May.

Already sent to Bangabandhu Safari Park in Gazipur, the zebras were brought to Tutu Mia’s enclosure on the evening, said a trader in Shahrsha’s Satmail Bazar, Monirul Islam.

Satmail Bazar is largely known as a market of cattle smuggled in from India. A local leader of ruling Awami League is a member of the syndicate that controls the cattle market, local sources said.

The police sued Tutu Mia, Rana Bhuiyan from Bakulnagar village in Palash upazila of Narsingdi, Kamruzzaman Babu from Bashikora Chakpara village in Bogura’s Adamdighi upazila and Md Mukti from Putkhali of Sharsha upazila under wildlife conservation and security act. Local AL leader Idris Ali, Rana from Uttara of Dhaka and Yasin, son of one Zakir Hossain from Bhola were named as their associates.

Rana Bhuiyan, Kamruzzaman, Mukti and Yasin are accused in another case filed on 13 November 2017 in connection with the rescue of a leopard and four cubs of lion from a Prado car at Chanchra check post in Jashore.

The police, however, did not include the name of the owner of Prado car, Khwaja Moinuddin, a recruiting agent and owner of Star Gold International.

Investigation officer of the case Abdul Qayyum Munshi remained silent about his exclusion from the case.

The cages of zebras were brought in by Turkish Airlines, said the police.

Turkish Airlines’ assistant manager Nafis Imran said, "Biman Bangladesh Airlines carries our cargo in Dhaka."

The cargo services department of Biman said to Prothom Alo that the Turkish Airlines jet TK-6472 brought 10 zebras in Dhaka on 7 May and the importing organisation, Bay Mother Shrimp, had paid duty and taken them away on that day.

Cox’s Bazar fish food trading company Bay Mother Shrimp’s owner Shahed Ali said he knows nothing about the zebras.

Dhaka Customs House commissioner Prakash Dewan said the zebras were brought with legal documents.

Another customs official, on anonymity, said the zebras were imported by showing forged documents. Of the 10 zebras, one might have died earlier and another one died after those were sent to the border area, he suspects.

About poaching, fisheries and livestock minister Narayan Chandra Chanda told Prothom Alo that the ministry does not give permission or no objection certificate (NOC) for import of wild animals.

That is the duty of the forest department, he pointed out.

Forest conservator (wildlife) Md Zahidul Karim said they have not given permission to any private organisation other than the government zoos.

Terming all the documents of recent consignment of zebras as forged ones, he said an international gang imported the animals. The forest department will form a committee to investigate the matter.

The plaintiff of the zebra poaching case, Jashore detective branch police inspector Murad Hossain said the gang which was involved in the smuggling of leopards and lion cubs, is also involved in the zebra poaching.

* This report, originally published in Prothom Alo print edition, has been rewritten in English by Shameem Reza.