Bangla Press Desk: Illegal consignments of arms are entering Bangladesh through seven routes along the Bangladesh–Myanmar border. At least five smuggling rings are involved in this arms trade, and Rohingyas from Cox’s Bazar are part of each group. The main destinations for these arms shipments are various Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar and the hideouts of terrorists in the three hill districts.
Information about arms being smuggled from Myanmar into Bangladesh has been obtained from various sources, including the border areas, Rohingya camps, and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officials.
According to concerned individuals, the scale at which weapons are entering from Myanmar recently was not seen in previous years. Now, arms are being smuggled alongside drugs, and human-trafficking groups have also become involved in the arms trade.
Cox’s Bazar Superintendent of Police Md. Saifuddin Shaheen said that in the early hours of October 5, police from Ukhiya Police Station conducted a raid at Moragachhtala in Palongkhali Union, near the Ukhiya border, and arrested five drug traffickers along with two firearms, five cartridges, and 2,000 yaba tablets. The smugglers had brought these weapons and drugs from the Myanmar border.
He stated that because the Rohingya camps are close to the border, it has become easier for trafficking groups to smuggle weapons from Myanmar.
Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed, Commander of the BGB Ramu Sector in Cox’s Bazar, said that after bringing weapons from Myanmar, smugglers take them to the Rohingya camps.
BGB surveillance along the border points has been increased. Over the past three months, BGB members have seized more than 22 consignments of both local and foreign-made arms. This situation has raised serious concern.
Sources report that traffickers are bringing weapons into the country through seven routes along the 271-kilometer Bangladesh–Myanmar border. The smuggling points include Baishfari in Ghumdhum Union under Naikhyangchhari upazila, Balukhali Customs Ghat at Ghumdhum Point, Palongkhali of Ukhiya, and Nolbonia of Whykong Union.
The route through Baishfari is remote, dense, and hilly. Members of the Chakma and Tanchangya ethnic communities in that area are also involved in arms smuggling. Most of the weapons passing through this point go to terrorists hiding in the forests of the three hill districts. Weapons brought through the other two points go to Rohingya camps.
In addition, weapons are being smuggled through the Naf River, via Unchiprang and Ulubunia of Whykong Union, Leda–Damdamia–Jadimura–Nayapara of Hnila Union in Teknaf upazila, and Boraitli Canal of Teknaf Sadar Union. Rohingyas are primarily involved in smuggling arms through these routes. However, it has been reported that at the Jadimura point, a local resident named Kalu is working with the Rohingyas in this trade.
Investigations have revealed that five rings are active in smuggling arms from the Myanmar border into Bangladesh. Among them are four armed groups from the Rohingya camps: the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), the Halim Group led by armed militant Halim (Kefayet Ullah alias Abdul Halim), and the Nabi Hossain Group. In addition, there is a large terrorist network operating in the forests of Khagrachhari, Rangamati, and Bandarban, reportedly consisting of over a hundred members.
Ordinary Rohingyas report that the newly active Halim Group is led by Kefayet Ullah alias Abdul Halim, who resides in Camp-7 of Kutupalong, Ukhiya. There, in the Noukar Math area, he has established his base. A video obtained by Kaler Kantho, dated February 6, 2024, shows Halim himself recording a video of weapons looted from the Dekhibonia outpost of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) near the Bangladesh border in Rakhine. From that outpost, Halim brought a large cache of modern weapons from Myanmar into Bangladesh using strategic methods.
Meanwhile, Lt. Colonel Kamrul Hasan, commander of RAB-15 Battalion, stated that at various times, joint forces led by RAB have recovered many weapons from Rohingya camps. In the past one and a half years, RAB-15 operations have resulted in the recovery of 1,279 weapons (including 21 foreign-made) and the arrest of 163 armed individuals.
Source of illegal weapons in Myanmar: After the massive influx of Rohingyas from Myanmar’s Rakhine State (Arakan) into Bangladesh in 2017, the Arakan Army emerged. Since November 13, 2023, the Arakan Army has been engaged in violent conflict with Myanmar forces to separate Rakhine State from Myanmar. By December 2024, the Arakan Army had taken control of almost all of Rakhine State on the Myanmar side of the 271-kilometer Bangladesh–Myanmar border. They also captured several BGP and Myanmar Army camps.
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