Drug traffickers prowl Naf in the guise of fishermen

Drug traffickers posing as fishermen are smuggling in stashes of yaba pills from Myanmar through the Naf river in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar, amid lax enforcement of a ban on fishing in the river, according to several intelligence officials and men involved in the trade.

The government ban imposed in August 2017 to curb drug trafficking is still in force. But local drug cartels, backed by a section of fishing department officials and leaders of a boat owners' association, are operating the boats in the name of fishing.

The traffickers keep the stashes in the hull of the boats hidden under previously caught fish supplied by their Myanmar counterparts, said the sources.

The smugglers spend about Tk 6 to Tk 8 lakh to build the boats that are a little smaller than the usual fishing boats that one sees in Teknaf, they added.

Asked about the frequent violation of the fishing ban, Mahfuzul Islam, superintendent of police in Cox's Bazar, admitted that some fishing boats are going to the river.

According to a Rohingya man who once worked on such a boat, the smugglers would pay Tk 30,000 to Tk 40,000 everyone for each successful trip.

"But we take action whenever we get information," he told this newspaper on September 28.

"Besides," he added, "we discuss the issue with BGB commanders during meetings because they are the ones taking care of the border."

Contacted on October 5, Delwar Hossen, senior fisheries officer in Teknaf, said the boats that are going for fishing in the river are small in size.

"We often have to ignore those boats because we do not have enough manpower and resources to frequently conduct mobile court drives."

WHO ARE THEY?

Shah Alam, a fisherman in the Danguarpara area of Teknaf, was enlisted by police as a narcotics carrier. But recently, he has started working as a dealer who brings yaba from Myanmar directly, according to the sources.

This correspondent could not contact him because his number was found unreachable.

These smugglers mainly employ Rohingya men in their boats because they know the ways to enter Myanmar to pick up the stashes of yaba.

According to a Rohingya man who once worked on such a boat, the smugglers would pay Tk 30,000 to Tk 40,000 everyone for each successful trip.

The Daily Star managed to talk to a man who said he used to be a yaba carrier in Teknaf but left the path of crime recently.

He said the carriers took the risks at the border, but the dealers took the profit. "Why shouldn't the carrier become a dealer?"

Sources said boat owners and fishermen in Kayak Khali Khal, Jaliapara, and Sluice Gate areas in Teknaf are mainly involved in the illicit trade.

In the Kayak Khali Khal area, the traffickers recently built at least 80 boats that are being used without registration, they said.

A fisherman, requesting not to be named, said the Kayak Khali Khal boat owner's association has been collecting Tk 5,000 from each fisherman every month to "manage" the authorities.

Abdul Jalil, president of the association, said applications for registration of 73 of the boats have been submitted to the authorities.

"We will apply for registration of other fishing boats soon," he said.

About the allegation that the association was collecting money from fishermen, he said the association only collected Tk 12,000 to Tk 14,000 from the fishermen, depending on the size of the boat, for approval from the shipping ministry.

"We are not involved in any illegal activities," he said.

Abdus Salam, president of Bangladesh Khudro Matsyajibi Samity's Teknaf unit, said, "We have been asking the fishing department in the upazila for four years not to allow any new boats without checking its owner's background. But no one listens to us."

That's why traffickers are being able to pose as fishermen, he said.

Regarding the use of fishing boats in drug trafficking, fisheries officer Delwar Hossen said it was the law enforcers' job to look into the matter.

According to sources, the illegal boats collect tokens from some fisheries department officials in exchange for Tk 1,000 to Tk 2,000 for approval to go fishing. Asked about it, Delwar refused to speak on this.

Contacted, Lt Col Sheikh Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar, commanding officer of BGB-2, said he had not heard about fishing in the Naf.

"Fishing trawlers go out to the sea through the river," he told The Daily Star.

About the allegations that fishing boats were used for drug trafficking, he said, "Ask the people who gave this information to tell us, so we can take action."

Lieutenant Kazi Al-Ameen of the Bangladesh Coast Guard in Cox's Bazar also said he had not heard of trafficking through the river. "We have strict surveillance to prevent illegal activities in the river and sea," he said.