Sex Trafficking: The racket on prowl at the border

Every year, many girls are trafficked out of Bangladesh with the promise of a better life abroad, only to end up in the underbelly of cities like Mumbai and Pune, India. An investigation by The Daily Star takes a look into this dark world that involves brokers and law enforcers on both sides of the border. This is the second part of a four-part series.

Adjacent to the border in Narail district's Maheshpur upazila, a hidden racket facilitating the illegal crossing of people thrives, operated by individuals known locally as "Dhurs" or carriers.

During the journey, The Daily Star managed to gain access to a dozen traffickers operating within the upazila.

These traffickers have turned Matila village into a hub for trafficking people, using border points like Rajkol, Pulia, Raounghat, and Bhovodashpur for trafficking. The carriers reveal that between 20 to 40 people, men, and women alike, are trafficked daily.

One of the leaders of these carriers with whom these correspondents spoke shared that their operations now primarily revolve around the Kule-Pachpitola and Anduli border points, while another entryway, Daulatpur, also remains open and unguarded.

Part-1: Lured to India's red light district, and a lucky escape
Part-3: Bombaypara in Narail: a sex trafficking hotspot
Part-4: No coming home

The man was talking at the Jadabpur border point in Maheshpur Upazila.

The carriers demand payment ranging from Tk 5,000 to Tk 6,000 per person for facilitating illegal border crossings. The earnings fluctuate depending on the level of border security and the prevailing circumstances.

The carrier network operates with a chilling precision. Travellers seeking illegal entry are temporarily housed in border area residences for a day or two until the carriers receive a signal that the border is safe to cross. Under the cover of midnight or the early hours of the night, the travellers are quietly transferred to the other side of the border.

When asked how they managed to conceal these unknown individuals in border houses, the Dhur leader divulged a shrewd tactic. They pose the travellers as their relatives when questioned by law enforcement officials or local residents. To avail sanctuary in the border houses and access the perilous journey, travellers must pay a steep fee of Tk 2,000 per night, inclusive of food.

On why he chose this trade, the Dhur leader explains, "We barely earned Tk 300 for a day's work in the past doing menial job, but this enterprise yields no less than Tk 20,000 in a single night."

The repercussions of challenging the carriers are so severe, that no one dares to raise their voice. Those who attempt to confront them are ensnared in legal traps; phensedyl bottles are planted near their homes, leading to police raids and set-ups.

The Dhur leader said they provide a cut of the gains to on-duty police and BGB officials. Even when carriers face arrests, they miraculously secure bail within a day, aided by a group of lawyers.

When they fail to outsmart the BGB, they plant sacks of phensedyl in isolated locations, and then tip-off the BGB post about a narcotics consignment near the border.

A BGB unit's success is dependent on the amounts of recoveries made, and so they fall for the ruse. While the BGB moves to intercept the supposed drug consignments, the carriers clandestinely pass the people through.

Among the significant traffickers in Matila village is Md Wakimail, aged 47. Another perpetrator, Zia, brazenly doubles as a BGB lineman, collecting bribes daily from illegal crossings for the law enforcers.

Another carrier who these correspondents met at the zero line of Matila village said BGB, through their lineman, now demands Tk 1,000 for each person trafficked illegally.

Lt Col Masud Parvez, commander of BGB Maheshpur Battalion, refuted the allegation, and said they are trying their best to stop the illicit trade, and the trend is going down.

"People cross the border illegally for three reasons – treatment, employment, sex trade. It is often difficult to identify the trafficking victims," he told The Daily Star.

However, the price for passage is not fixed and fluctuates based on border situations, ranging from Tk 7,000 to Tk 13,000 and sometimes Tk 16,000, according to at least eight sources on both sides of the border who are directly involved in the trafficking.

At the Matila village, a small canal divides the two countries. During dry season, the water is knee-deep, but when monsoon hits, this canal can be treacherous.  Travellers are forced to cross, often stripped naked, regardless of gender.

The carrier said that if the women or girls being trafficked are deemed beautiful by the carriers, they are often sexually assaulted right on the border. The women are held captive for a night before being sent to the other side.

Adding to the network, local police stations demand their share. Through their linemen, they charge Tk 500 for each person smuggled across the border. The carriers, a cog in this dark machinery, must comply with the demands to evade trouble.

Khandker Shamim Uddin, officer-in-charge of Maheshpur police station, refuted the allegations and said they did not collect any toll from these traffickers.

"We take action whenever any complaint is received," he said.

"We mainly found people crossing the border without passports for treatment purposes. Sometimes, we found trafficking victims and lawful action was taken," he added.

An additional superintendent of police from Khulna Range, however, admitted that the border area police stations know everything.

"But actions are not taken against these traffickers as we receive benefits, tolls. Sometimes grassroots-level carriers are arrested but they get released within a day or two in the absence of strong evidence," said the officer, requesting anonymity.

Earlier, the traffickers were mainly seen using West Bengal as a transit route to traffic the girls to Mumbai from Bangladesh. But recently, they have started using the border points of Sylhet, and Brahmanbaria via Northeast India to Mumbai, according to law enforcement officials and NGO workers in India.

Along with the law enforcers, some ruling party men, and public representatives were found involved with the network, supporting these traffickers at the border, according to local traffickers, and our findings.

Sultan Ahmed Babu, a former Member of Benapole Ward-1 is named by locals as a prominent ringleader. Sadipur, a village in Benapole Ward-1, has become a den of traffickers, with locals being known to accommodate refugees in their houses in exchange for money.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Babu acknowledged that he traffics people.

"We helped them out on humanitarian grounds. We send them directly to the Maheshpur border of Jhenaidah by motorbike, which is around 50 kilometres from Benapole," he said.

Asked about the costs involved, Babu said, "I do not know about it clearly, but they charged between Tk 5,000 and Tk 7,000. And the bike driver charged Tk 2,000 to Tk 3,000."

"People are taking girls with them, posing as wives, so we do not understand," Babu admitted, highlighting the deceit that permeates the operations.

Babu agreed that people occasionally take shelter in the homes of poor villagers in the absence of alternative lodging. In such cases, they pay a meagre rent of Tk 500 for a night.

On the other side of the border in India, similar living facilities are available in Haridaspur and Juapur villages, he said.