HIDDEN TREASURERS : Many become millionaires by selling hidden treasures

Tanvir Alam, Roving Correspondent (North Bengal) :
Many people are becoming millionaires by selling the objects that were supposed to be in the museum under the control of the Directorate of Archaeology Department.

And these treasure traders or smugglers are not new.

For a long time, they have been making a lot of money from archaeological sites and selling old historical items and made a lot of wealth anonymously in the capital of Dhaka and in district towns.

Jalil, Sarwar, Siraj, Abul, Zakir, Nannu, Zafar and Sufian are very familiar names to people living around the archaeological sites of Bangladesh. All of them used to visit the archaeological sites of Bangladesh themselves.

Over time, their children have taken over the business. Siraj’s sons Samser and Mamun, Abul’s son-in-law and son Jitu, Jalil’s daughter Jasrin, who has been active since before his father’s death, regularly sit in the shops of DCC Market at Dhaka Gulshan No. 2. Many of them are now leaving DCC market shops and doing flying business.

During the 1/11 government, law enforcement forces arrested them and recovered a lot of antiquities from shops and houses.

Zakir and his sons Suman, Zafar, Sufian, Samsher are smuggling the treasure of Bangladesh to India, Nepal, Thailand and China.

Abul and his son Jeetu are selling Bangladesh’s treasure through two shops called Hussain Handicrafts in Thailand. Nannu sometimes goes to China or the Chinese come to him.

The Chinese came and stayed in several hotels including Sutpalace Hotel on Road No. 13 in Baridhara. Nannu communicated with these Chinese businessmen on a commission basis with treasure and smugglers from different parts of Bangladesh. Like Ujjal, Mister, Jahurul from Bogura Mahasthan (once they used to cut soil and sell curry at Mahasthan market, now everyone in Mahasthan area know them as idol traders), Farooq, Sultan from Sherpur and Sabuj from Nandigram (working in marketing of pesticide company) Singra.

From Mohsin and Saidul (they are known as idol dealers in the area) Mosaddek Amirul Jamirul and Atabul of Tektha village in Nitpur of Naogaon Porsha upazila (they cut the soil) Mamun of Patul area of Nator (known as idol dealers in the area) Sujan, Naushad of Tangail Madhupur Mominpur (they are van drivers). At present they are all millionaires. Among them, Ujjal, Mister, Zahurul, Mohsin are directly going abroad and dealing with foreigners.

Through them, pictures of archeological artifacts or secret resources found in the soil of any village in Bangladesh are sent to foreign customers through video, WhatsApp, WeChat, IMO apps.

And they are using the poor management of airports and cooperation of dishonest officials, also international courier services like DHL to reach the goods to foreigners.

A person who did not wish to be named said that on Wednesday of last week, the son of Mohsin of Singra Upazila came with the goods and took them with him and sent 9 kg to China and 6 kg to Thailand.

When asked if they have to answer to the couriers for sending these goods, he said, they were told that they have necklace stones. They didn’t have to be bored and fast.