Faulty scanners facilitate drug trafficking

Staff Reporter :

Taking advantage of three dysfunctional scanning machines at the country’s largest land port in Benapole, the drug-smuggling rackets have become more active in the recent time.

Sources concerned said the law enforcers recovered huge numbers of Phensedyl bottles and other drugs at the port in the last couple of months, exposing a fragile security system there.

It is alarmingly that the recurring issue of missing goods, attributed to the absence of adequate scanning machines, including one valued at Tk5 crore.

In spite of 375 CCTVs functioning in and around the port, vigilance by intelligence, Armed Police Battalion (APBn), Ansar and personnel of private security agency Prima, it seems that the drug peddling cannot be contained.

Expensive scanner was used for scanning goods-laden trucks of Bangladesh and India. On Saturday, Ansar members recovered 49 bottles of phensedyl after chasing some drug peddlers at gate No-5. Later, a case was filed accusing some unidentified people with Benapole port police station.

Earlier, on 2 July, 99 bottles of Phensedyl were recovered from imported Indian goods at the raw material yard. Helaluzzaman, an Ansar official of the port, said their members recovered the 49 Phensedyl bottles after noticing suspicious movement of some people surrounding a truck.

Later, the drugs were handed over to the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), he said.
A few days ago, two fingerprint machines went missing from the office of the deputy traffic manager.
Port sources blamed negligence by the authorities concerned responsible for the drug peddling, making it difficult to nab the culprits.

At present, 163 Ansar members, 42 APBn personnel, and 129 staff from the private security firm Prima are on duty, in addition to 375 installed CCTV cameras.

Anowar Ali Anu, Vice-President of the Benapole Importers-Exporters Association, said smugglers collect drugs from Indian goods-laden trucks or borders and distribute them all over the country.

He mentioned that the drug peddlers use the port as a base for smuggling, often aided by some unscrupulous officials.

Shamsur Rahman, President of the Clearing and Forwarding Agent Association, highlighted the need to make the scanning machines operational to combat drug smuggling and called for increased vigilance by law enforcement agencies.

Rashedul Sajib Nazir, Deputy Director of the port, also raised the issue of the idle scanner machines with the higher authorities.