‘Border bars’ for Bangladeshis

It was a cloudy afternoon on October 2 at Shahpur border in Cumilla.

Amid a drizzle, a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) member was patrolling near the zero-line between Bangladesh and India. He took a few steps forward when he saw four people disembark from a three-wheeler just yards away, and asked: "How many of you?"

"Four," came the reply.

The BGB member then waved his right hand towards a civilian sitting inside a battered, tin-roofed shop nearby.

The four were allowed to step into the shop just along the border pillar. The civilian, who looked to be in his 40s, asked for Tk 100 from each. As the four tried to bargain, the man said, "If I give you any discount, even Tk 2, then I would have to pay it from my pocket."

It's the entry fee to one of the "border bars" set up on Indian soil to tend to the needs of Bangladeshis for liquor, yaba, and other synthetic drugs.

On information that some BGB men help customers get drugs from Shahpur and Ashabari -- both close to the border in Cumilla -- a three-member team of The Daily Star went undercover to expose how someone with connections could easily enter Indian territory through the Cumilla border to take drugs and come back.

A local drug carrier agreed to work as a guide without knowing the identities of the newsmen.

The team talked to the civilian in the guise of customers and gave the money.

"They have paid Tk 400," the civilian told the BGB man.

The BGB member moved towards the zero line and gave the team the clearance to cross the border without check anyone's identity.

"You four can go," he said.

"The situation is not favourable now, so you will not get much time to spend. Mind you, if you get caught there, we have nothing to do. They will award you jail terms of up to 20 years and you will not see the sunlight," the BGB man warned while guiding the team from the border pillar to a few yards ahead.

Three people -- identified as Indian nationals later -- were seen on the Indian side of the pillar.

"Take them inside," the BGB man told one of the three.

With them, The Daily Star team along with the guide crossed the zero line on foot and stepped inside Indian territory. No border fence could be seen there. There were no Border Security Force members either.

The walk continued for a few more minutes until a house came along. Situated on no man's land in Indian territory, the single-roofed nondescript house has several rooms. The team was taken to one of the rooms which had a cot, a dressing table, and several chairs. Some Indian and Bangladeshi currencies were visible on the dressing table.

Scores of bottles of Indian liquors, beer, phensedyl, and cough syrup Eskuf were stacked under the cot. The arrangement looked like a bar: people come in, choose the brand, drink, and then leave.

"What do you want?" asked one of the three, identifying himself as Ashim.

"We want three Bacardi (Indian rum) and an Eskuf," one of the team members of this newspaper replied.

Ashim said each bottle of Bacardi would cost Tk 700 while the price of one bottle of Eskuf was Tk 450. After a brief bargaining, Ashim reduced the price of a Bacardi bottle by Tk 50.

The guide took the cough syrup while the correspondents threw away their liquors evading the eyes of the three. The newspaper team stayed there for around 15 minutes and entered the Bangladesh territory on foot freely.

It was 5:55pm. Now the same BGB man asked about their identities for the first time.

"Where are you from and what do you do?" he said.

One of the newsmen said he was from Khulna and runs a transport business.

The BGB man did not ask anything else.

Locals in the area alleged that the BGB men only allow people to bring drugs from India if they have stronger connections or "pay a bribe".

The guide said, "Many even bring bags full of liquor into Bangladesh. It's an open secret."

Informed about the newspaper's sting operation, Commander of Cumilla Battalion (BGB-10) Lt Col Mohammad Isahak said over the phone, "It's not supposed to happen. I do not know how you people went there."

Isahak, however, said when a shift changes or the patrol team moves to another place, the drug dealers and carriers use the opportunity to enter the village on no-man's land.

"We have information that the drug dealing takes place only when there is no patrol team," he insisted.

"We have no permanent post here. But we have a strong vigilance as our officials remain on patrol duty along the border. We are on alert and take action whenever we find any irregularity," he said.

TRIP TO ANOTHER VILLAGE

Before going to Shahpur border, The Daily Star team went to a border village called Ashabari in Cumilla Sadar, some 25 kilometres away from Shahpur.

The team reached Shashidal Union Bazar in Brahmanpara Upazila of Cumilla around 12:40pm. In the bazar, the team met the guide who agreed to take them to Ashabari first and then to Shahpur border.

Ashabari falls in both Bangladesh and India and the part in Indian territory also carries the same name. The team had information that all kinds of synthetic drugs and even alcohol could be consumed there with the right connections and money.

Locals on the Bangladesh side alleged that the drug dealers and traders sell various kinds of drugs taking advantage of the border law that says law enforcers of both Bangladesh and India need to take permission from each other before conducting any drive there.

Locals hinted that BSF members could also be involved in the illegal activities as there were instances when they provided security to suspected drug carriers or users who illegally crossed the border.

Drivers of battery-run auto-rickshaws play a big part in this illegal trade as they help connect the customers to the drug traders, they added.

The guide of this newspaper's team hired one such three-wheeler driver who is well-connected with the drug traders. The journey began around 12:55pm from the union bazar.

As the auto-rickshaw neared the village, two motorcyclists stopped the vehicle. "Be alert before moving forward. There's a BGB patrol going on there," one of them warned as he knew where the vehicle was going.

After a few minutes, the team was again stopped by another auto-rickshaw. The guide then got down, enquired about the situation and the vehicle started moving again.

After half an hour's ride, the team reached Ashabari. BSF guards were seen patrolling just a small distance from the village. The auto-rickshaw stopped near the border and the driver warned the team to finish it as fast as possible.

The guide led the team into a house inside Indian territory after a brief walk.

On reaching the house, a woman came out and asked: "What would you like to have?"

"What can you serve?" one of the four replied.

The woman said she charged Tk 1,600 for a phensedyl bottle, Tk 300 for a yaba pill, Tk 450 for a bottle of Eskuf, and Tk 600 for a beer.

Once the deal was finalised, the woman walked to an empty chicken enclosure and got bottles of phensedyl, Eskuf, beer, and yaba pills out of the coop. These correspondents bought two beers and an Eskuf.

After staying around 20 minutes at the woman's house, the team returned to Bangladesh and got on the same battery-run auto-rickshaw without any security check by any law enforcers.

Contacted, BGB-60 Battalion Commander Lt Col Md Ashik Hasan Ullah declined to comment.