International Drug Trafficking and Security Concerns In Bangladesh

Introduction

Like any other state in the region, Bangladesh has to deal with multiple security issues with her next-door neighbors: India and Myanmar, including some peripheral issues with countries in South Asia. Besides the typical concerns Bangladesh is now confronted with the tremendous rise in drug abuse, country's current addict population being approximately three million, and the abundance of cross border drug supplies. Affected by the narcotics and psychotropic catastrophes, the US government has been waging "War" against drugs in recent years, and has engaged its Marines along the sea lines to help control the supply of drugs from overseas. Given the escalation of drug threat around its borders, a grave concern has been created for Bangladesh and its enforcement agencies in combating the vulnerability.

Geo-narcotics location of the country:

Geographically Bangladesh is located at the heart of three drug-producing regions:

in the east the Golden Triangle, in the north the Golden Wedge and in the west, across India, the Golden Crescent.

The Golden Triangle region made up of the eastern part of Myanmar's Shan state, areas of northern Thailand and northern Laos, bordering southwest China;

The Golden Crescent consists of northeastern and southern Afghanistan, NWFP of Pakistan and Shistan Baluchistan of Iran;

And the Golden Wedge consists of northern India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh & Arunachal Pradesh), parts of Nepal and Bhutan.

The above regions have earned infamous reputation for supplying illicit opium and cannabis to the underworld market. It is estimated that that these regions produced about 5,200 metric tons of contraband opium in 2002.

Bangladesh has direct air, sea and road communications with almost all the major drug producing countries in the region. Its multiple communications with the poppy growing countries made Bangladesh a major consumer of and geographical crossroads for illicit drugs from Myanmar, India, Pakistan and Nepal. As a result of this development, the Paris based Interpol organization in 1996 suggested that roughly 5 per cent of world drug trafficking is 'routed through Bangladesh'. In view of this assertion, the current paper examines the global dimensions and nature of transit trafficking via Bangladesh as well as the domestic security concerns of the country that has emerged as a result of the escalation of drug trade throughout the region in recent years.

Myanmar link:

In the northeast, Bangladesh has 365 kilometers long border with Myanmar, currently the second largest heroin producing country in the world after Afghanistan. Contemporary reports reveal that the illicit poppy cultivation in Myanmar fell almost 50% in recent years, especially after the surrender of the Burmese drug lord Khun Shah during the late 1990s. Since the 1970s, the 59-kilometre hilly and reverie border along Teknaf in Cox's Bazar district has been used as a parade route by international drug traffickers and arms smugglers. Besides this, the country has about

2,725 kilometers coastline in the Bay of Bengal, which from southeast along the Naf River has emerged as an important corridor for Burmese drug trafficking. In most cases, local criminals in collaboration with the cross-border Ruhinga refugees and Rakhain population act as the couriers of drugs and arms running activities from Myanmar. International drug traffickers may be using coastal areas of Bangladesh for trans-shipping heroin consignments from Myanmar or Golden Triangle to larger vessels to be transported across the high seas to the west.

Pakistani channel:

Evidence suggests that Pakistani drug dealers occasionally used Bangladesh as a transit country for overseas destinations. As a result of the so-called Saur (April) Revolution in Afghanistan and the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Pakistan became connected more than ever with the underworld drug trade at the turn of the 1970s. The geo-political changes that occurred in southwest Asia during the Cold War era helped promote drug trade throughout the region. Pakistan by the mid-1980s emerged as a major refiner of southwest Asian opium into heroin intended for international black markets. The massive supply of cross-border opium, combined with the domestic illicit production in NWFP, helped Pakistan to become the world's largest supplier of heroin by the late 1980s. Top narcotics control officials in Dhaka seized the largest quantity of Pakistani heroin, weighing about 24 kilograms, in September 1999. Nonetheless, the large-scale manufacture of heroin is believed to have resumed in Afghanistan after the events of September 11, 2001, the opium production being approximately 3,400 tons in 2002. With the rise of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, the Pakistani drug syndicates are likely to be using the air, sea and land routes of the neighboring countries for smuggling southwest Asian heroin to overseas.

Indian traffic:

Evidence is available that the drug trafficking syndicates operating in India were continually using or tried to use Bangladeshi transit facilities in recent years. Enveloped by India on three sides, Bangladesh became a 'launching-pad' for illicit drugs both from India and drug producing countries beyond its borders. Bangladesh shares a 4,144-kilometre border with India, which is dotted by smuggling routes for illicit drugs. In this contraband trade, many international drug syndicates from Nigeria, Sri Lanka and other countries were using northeastern states in India for bringing drugs from the Golden Triangle region into Bangladesh. However, Indian authorities claim that drug dealers from southwest Asia used the country and then possibly Bangladesh for transit trafficking. Police authorities in West Bengal asserted that 'the kingpins of the criminal gangs' operating along the Bangladesh border were based in Calcutta. Trans-border traffickers with consignments from Calcutta were crossing through the Benapole border in Jessore, mostly with false passports. Recent reports suggest that exhausting every conceivable means drug dealers are now employing women and children as conduits for illicit trading.

Nepalese connection:

In the north, Nepal is sometimes used for transiting heroin from the Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle regions to pass through the Siliguri corridor into Bangladesh. Besides this, the sporadic poppy cultivation that has been taking place in the mountain valleys in Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan of Golden Wedge region is converted into heroin for overseas market. A report published by the French Central Narcotics Office in 1990 indicated similar apprehension that some heroin was being produced in this region.

Besides this, illicit cannabis is also grown in Nepal. Like some other southeast and southwest Asian countries, Nepal acts as a supply side country for contraband drugs into Bangladesh for countries far beyond.

Security issues:

There are a number of security issues that have been stemming from Bangladesh being used as crossroads for international drug trafficking. These are as follows:

Damage to International Image: If the present trends of drug trafficking continues through Bangladesh, and the growing drug culture remains unabated, that would tarnish the international image of the country. Drug-related violence acts as a deterrent to investment and tourism, reducing employment opportunities and income. As we are aware of that, for its failure in combating underworld trafficking, some Western media branded Pakistan as the 'Columbia of the East.' We have to be cautious so that the country does not earn further bad name after performing poorly in the international corruption list.

Concerns of the Enforcement Agencies: In recent years, the volume of cross-border drug trafficking has increased tremendously, creating a serious concern for the enforcement agencies in Bangladesh. With the rise of narcotics-related crime and offences, the law and order situation has deteriorated significantly. Drugs supplied from cross-border sources are now undermining the legal measures adopted by the Bangladesh government. The fight against drug trafficking and organised crime has created pressure on scarce government resources, and reduced in one way or another the amount available for welfare activities and services. Above all, some members of the enforcement agencies have allegedly developed unholy alliance with the drug dealers in the country. Newspaper sources maintain that some officials, both from police department and the DNC, have a strong nexus with the drug traffickers and more often these dishonest officials were hindering the operations by leaking of the information to criminals ahead of the raid.

Destabilizing Civil Society: The main symptom or manifestation of the destabilisation of civil society is taking place with the rising of crime, notably violent crime in the country. It has a strong impact on individual freedom, especially freedom of movement. This is happening as a result of increased levels of crime: murders, gangsterism, kidnapping, and extortion; rise in gambling and prostitution; escalation of drug abuse; and the loss of community cohesion. On 6 March, Home Minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury informed parliament that there have been 3,700 murders in the country in one year since January 2002. A significant number of these killings were linked to disputes over drug business. The above scenario has become a matter of concern for the civil society in Bangladesh.

Spreading Mafia Culture: The involvement of local criminal groups in international drug trafficking operations and the spending of a portion of the funds in procuring arms and ammunitions help increase mafia type activities in the country. Contemporary reports suggest that the seacoast areas along Akyab in Myanamar; and Naikhongchori in Teknaf; Moheshkhali in Cox's Bazar; Bashkhali, Anwara and Sitakundo in Chitagong have assumed greater strategic importance for cross-border arms traffickers. Possession of illegal weapons by drug traffickers is contributing to the spread of fear and violence, making the overall social condition vulnerable. Drug-related crime especially is having a major impact on members of the middle class and lower middle class people of society, who are less capable of protecting themselves, while members of high-income groups can afford to pay for security equipment and services.

Social Erosion: As the illicit drug trade generates fabulous income, it became apparently an important factor for the readiness of some people to participate in drug trafficking, and eventually contributing to the moral degradation of the society. The quick profits to be made from drug trafficking provide an incentive to unemployed youths, street boys, and eventually influence them to become drug peddlers. Incentives are thus being provided to a generation to lead a life under the shadow of criminal syndicates. The spread of drug culture increasingly contributing to the erosion

of social values in general, and compromises the rule of law in particular. The corrosion of social values is responsible for the manifestation of social crime, administrative corruption and obstruction to rule of law, and finally reducing the potential welfare of the society. Thus, the social fabric in Bangladesh has been suffering from illegal activities becoming the norm in recent years.

Destabilising Political Systems: The destabilization of the state is usually the most serious consequence of the existence of illicit drug business in any country. Funds generated by drug traffickers for achieving political goals are usually more than enough for corrupting the political elite and the political system as a whole. The ability of the illicit traffickers to finance electoral campaigns and political movements has invited destabilisation of the government and politics in many countries, including Pakistan. Between 1985 and 1998, both Benazir and Nawaz Sharif governments faced debacles by sharing political power with the ringleaders of the country's drug trade. Funneling of drug money also can help trigger insurgency, terrorism and organised crime, and eventually can destabilise the political system. There are signs that a growing nexus between political segment and the drug dealers are on the way in the country, and if it continue to flourish, would jeopardise our hard earned democracy.

Proliferation of drug abuse: Bangladesh, being a transit country, is now facing massive domestic drug abuse problems, as spillover is a common phenomenon. Local drug trafficking groups, which assist in the transit operations, are often paid in kind. As they rarely have access to foreign markets, they sell the drug locally in order to generate personal income. With the increase of drug trafficking addiction to heroin, cannabis, pethidine and other psychotropic substances has increased tremendously. As a result of the organised transit trafficking, coupled with the supply of Indian drugs into Bangladesh market, drug addiction has reached an epidemic proportion in the country.