Investigation unearths big link between drug smuggling in Kerala and buffaloes in India-Bangladesh border

KOCHI: The people of Jalangi in Murshidabad, a district in West Bengal, have got a new found love for raising buffaloes. Their aim is not to make money through cattle rearing but to use buffaloes in smuggling drugs. People of Jalangi began raising buffaloes after Bangladeshis began to peddle ‘Bangla Brown Sugar’ using these animals. This uncanny connection between drugs and buffaloes surfaced in the investigation of the Excise department after a man was arrested in connection with smuggling the dope.

The modus operandi of these ‘cattle farmers’ begins early morning when they reach the border of Bangladesh with the buffaloes. They produce their Aadhar Cards to enter Bangladesh territory as they have the right to cross over the international boundary for grazing cattle.

By nightfall they return back to the Indian side, carrying Bangla Brown Sugar. Sometimes they stick packages of the drug to the body of the buffaloes. This becomes easier for the drug peddlers as the cover of darkness makes it hard to detect these drug packages.

The investigation revealed that daily thousands of buffaloes are used to peddle drugs in this manner. Most of the smuggling occurs at the check-post near Brahmaputra river, where checking is comparatively relaxed and security personnel are few. The drugs peddled in this way finds its way to many parts of India including Kochi.

The Bangla brown sugar is then packed in houses and made ready to be transported. The smuggling and packing of drugs have turned into a ‘cottage industry’ in this part of West Bengal.

Jalangi is a village located on the banks of the river Padmavathi river, a tributary of Brahmaputra. Across the river lies Bangladesh and most of those living in Jalangi are migrant Bangladeshis. Most of them are farmers and their families live across the border. These Bangladeshis have special permission to cross the border to Bangladesh. They mostly travel to that country during winter season to meet their extended families. During the winter the water level is low at Padmavathi river.

Dairy farmers frequently cross the border to Bangladesh to graze their cattle. The drug smugglers use the special pass for this purpose to transport drugs.

Drug trade in Murshidabad is a common activity. Drugs can be obtained even from small houses in the region. Mostly young men are used in drug smuggling and those bringing drugs into Kerala is paid a hefty sum. They mostly travel as couples to transport the dope with reports that some in Murshidabad travel up to five times in a month to smuggle dope.