While consignments of cocaine have repeatedly been caught in Chattogram, the destination of the drug remains unknown. The local and international rings involved in this drug trafficking remains out of reach. Cases are filed and charge sheets issued only against the carriers.
Cocaine smuggling is increasing because members of the international ring remain unidentified, said general secretary of the Chattogram district bar association, AHM Zia Uddin.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said that the destination of the consignments and the identity of the local and international cartels must be determined, and legal action taken accordingly. If not, such crimes will continue and the country will suffer.
Chattogram has long been a narcotics transit route. Yaba is sent from Cox’s Bazar to Chattogram and then on to the rest of the country. Every day yaba hauls are being caught at Chattogram. Most of the cases filed in the port city’s 16 police stations are related to yaba recoveries. However, now the expensive drug cocaine is being caught too.
On 12 August, a different drug, phenethylamine, was seized for the first time. It resembles cocaine in appearance, but is even costlier. RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) seized this from the Foy’s Lake area of Khulshi in the city. A certain Firoz Khan, 40, was also arrested in this connection.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, RAB-7 Chattogram commander lieutenant colonel Mashiur Rahman said, this is the first time that this drug was caught in the country. It looks like cocaine. When information was received that a consignment was coming in, Firoz was arrested from Foy’s Lake. He had 775 grams of phenethylamine in his possession. He said that a certain Md Aziz had given this to him.
There are hardly any persons who can afford to use cocaine in the country. There are a few, but they are not addicted. Chattogram is used as a transit point from where the drug is trafficked elsewhere.M Emdadul Huq, NSU teacher and researcher on narcotics
Phenethylamine was included as a narcotic in 2018. The value of the recovered drug is Tk 120 million (Tk 12 crore).
A case was filed with the Khulshi police station over the recovery of the phenethylamine consignment. Police took Firoz on four-day remand for interrogation.
Investigating officer of the case, Khulshi police station’s sub-inspector (SI) Kabir Hossain said that during the four-day remand, Firoz said he knew nothing. An appeal to take him on remand again has been made in order to interrogate him further. Kabir Hossain said that it could not be determined who brought in the drug and where was its destination.
The largest consignment of cocaine was caught at Chattogram port on 6 June 2015. A consignment of 107 drums of sunflower oil was seized and cocaine was found in one of the drums. The value of the 370 litres of cocaine that was seized was Tk 90 billion (Tk 9000 crore). Bangladesh does not have the technology to convert liquid cocaine into powder. This consignment had been shipped from Montevideo, Uruguay and arrived at Chattogram port via Singapore.
There are two under-trial cases in this connection. The investigating officer of these two cases, superintendent of police Mohiuddin Faruki, told Prothom Alo that the destination of the consignment could not be determined.
After that large consignment, over the past five years (from June 2015 to 12 August this year), seven consignments were caught. The destinations of none of these could be determined. The accused in all cases are the carriers. From November last year till January, two consignments of cocaine were caught in a matter of 17 days. In one case the police only issued charge sheet against the carrier. RAB is investigating the other case.
On 26 November last year, RAB carried out a raid in Halishahar Boropol of the city, recovered 1 kg of cocaine worth around Tk 160 million (Tk 16 crore) and arrested one person in this connection. The investigating officer said no one else could be identified, nor could the destination of the cocaine be determined.
North South University teacher and researcher on narcotics, M Emdadul Huq, said RAB arrested a certain Bakhtiar Hossain, 32, from Tiger Pass in under the jurisdiction of Kotwali police station of the port city on 16 January, in possession of 820 grams of cocaine.
RAB-7 Chattogram assistant superintendent of police, Tareq Aziz, is investigating the case filed in this connection at the Kotwali police station.
He told Prothom Alo that the arrested person provided them with two names and efforts were on to catch them. If they could be caught, then perhaps the destination of the drug could be determined too.
Researcher M Emdadul Huq feels that intentional drug traffickers use Chattogram as a transit route. Speaking to Prothom Alo, he said, "There are hardly any persons who can afford to use cocaine in the country. There are a few, but they are not addicted. Chattogram is used as a transit point from where the drug is trafficked elsewhere."
He recommended that the government or the relevant authorities take assistance from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) so that the traffickers could not use Chattogram as a transit route.
* The report, originally published in the print edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir