bonanza of arms trade in unrestinflow of illegal small arms on the rise

7/28/2019 Bonanza of Arms Trade in UnrestInflow of Illegal Small Arms on the Rise

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Bonanza of Arms Trade in UnrestInflow of illegal small arms on the riseMd Esaraf Hossain

Amid ongoing political unrest, the smuggling of different types of small firearms, high-powered explosives and

ammunition is on the rise in the country, including the capital, posing a major threat to the safety and security of life.

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion are seizing 80-100 illegal firearms on average from different parts of the

country every month, RAB sources said.

Illegal firearms, including foreign-made pistols, revolvers and short guns, are being smuggled into the country

through different border points, detectives said.

These firearms are being used for triggering political violence and killing opponents.

A number of people, including some leaders and activists of the ruling Awami League, were killed by miscreants in

different parts of the country in recent times. Most of them were shot dead by the criminals.

Union parishad chairman, Zahid Hossain, and his associate Munna were gunned down by unidentified miscreants in

Fakirhat upazila of Bagerhat on May 18.

According to the sources, at least 20 organised criminal gangs are involved in smuggling these firearms into the

capital. Of them, at least fiv gangs had already been identified, DB police said.

Some of the gangsters had already been caught by police. They include arms traders Mobarak Hossain Masud, 30,Shahidul Islam Khokan, 32, Fakhrul Islam Apu, 31, Sumon Hossain, 24, Kamruzzaman Imran, 26, and drug traders

Halima Akter alias Liza, 22, and Suchandra Manna Rabeya, 19. DB police arrested them with six firearms in the

capital last week.

During interrogation, the arrested confessed to their involvement in dealing in illegal arms and drug peddling.

Firearms are imported mainly by Rabeya from abroad and sold in local market by gang members. They also haveseveral arms traders across the country. They rent illegal arms for Tk 5,000-10,000, police said.

According to the arrestees, they brought these firearms to the capital for illegal use.

As per confessional statements of some detained criminals, DB police identified at least five criminal gangs who are

active in the capital.

A number of listed criminals along with illegal firearms and ammunition are being caught by the members of lawenforcers, especially detectives and RAB.

Detectives seized more than 60 firearms from different parts of the capital in last three months, DB sources said.

Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Detective Branch (DB) of police, said several organized gangs of criminals

are smuggling arms and ammunition into the country through different border points.

DB police had already prepared a list of the criminals who are buying and renting these arms, he added.

Alongside other law enforcement agencies, RAB also recovered around 5,000 illegal firearms includingsophisticated ones from different parts of the country in last four years.

When contacted, RAB director (media) Wing Commander Habibur Rahman said on average, 80-100 illegal firearms

are being seized by members of the RAB from different parts of the country every day.

RAB personnel recovered about 350 firearms from different parts of the country in last five months, he added.

Now we are more cautious about reported smuggling of such illegal firearms into the country. Our forces continuedmassive anti-crime as well as illegal arms and drug crackdown to maintain law and order in the country.

Source: http://www.daily-sun.com/details_Inflow-of-illegal-small-arms-on-the-rise_517_1_1_1_4.html
http://www.daily-sun.com/details_Inflow-of-illegal-small-arms-on-the-rise_517_1_1_1_4.htmlhttp://www.daily-sun.com/details_Inflow-of-illegal-small-arms-on-the-rise_517_1_1_1_4.html


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Illegal arms entering Dhaka increases ahead of city pollsMohammad Jamil Khan, Md Sanaul Islam Tipu

Seven members of an arms-dealing ring held in city, placed on remand

The trade and supply of illegal arms is on the rise in the wake of ongoing pre-election activities in the capital and

higher demand from local criminals, claims a member of an intelligence agency.

Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the Detective Branch (DB) of police, yesterday said a group of arms

smugglers was importing the illegal arms ahead of the city corporation elections due this year.

The DB has already prepared a list of political leaders and criminal groups who are buying and renting these armsfrom smugglers, he said while addressing a press briefing at the DMP media centre, arranged to provide information

over the arrest of seven people working for a smuggling ring in raids on Thursday and early yesterday.

Mohammad Sanowar Hossain, DB additional deputy commissioner, coordinated the raid which was conducted by

Officer-in-Charge of the DBs bomb disposal unit, Rahmatullah Chowdhury, and OC of its illegal arms recovery

and protection team (south) Jahangir Alam.

The arrestees are: arms traders Mobarak Hossain Masud, 30, Shahidul Islam Khokan, 32, Fakhrul Islam Apu, 31,Sumon Hossain, 24, Kamruzzaman Imran, 26, and drug traders Halima Akter alias Liza, 22, and Suchandra Manna

Rabeya, 19.

Of them, Apu is a leader of BNPs Comilla district unit while Imran is an associate of noted criminal Shahadat and

Indian citizen Rabeya is the wife of Imran. The police also recovered six foreign pistols, 70 rounds of bullet and 200

illegal Yaba tablets from them.

Based on information that this group was brining 22 firearms to the capital by truck, the DB police performed raidsin the city's Mirpur area and arrested Masud and Khokan with two arms at around 8pm on Thursday, said Monirul.

Upon receiving information from them, the DB officials went to the Geneva camp at Humayun Road in the city's

Mohammadpur area to nab Apu and Sumon, he said. At that time, they fired four shots at DB members while

fleeing. They were arrested with two more firearms.

DB officials also raided house no. 13/3 of Hazi Chinumia Road in Mohammadpur and arrested Imran, Halima andRabeya, recovered two more firearms and 200 Yaba tablets, the official said.

During primary interrogation, Monirul said, the arrestees admitted their involvement in illegal arms trading and drug

peddling, working out of several rented houses in the capital. The arms are mainly imported by Rabeya from India

and sold in local market by ring members. They also have several arms traders across the country.

They also rent illegal arms for Tk5,000-10,000, police said.

According to the arrestees, they brought these firearms to the capital for use in the upcoming elections. A list of such

arms trader has also been recovered from their possessions, Monirul claimed.

The DB is now verifying the statements, especially regarding the political leaders who take arms from this group.

A total of four cases were filed against the seven with Shah Ali and Mohammadpur police stations. Among them,

Fakhrul, Sumon and Imran were shown as arrested in two cases filed under the Arms Act with Mohammadpur

police station while Rabeya and Halima are involved in a case filed under the Drugs Act with the same policestation. Masud and Khokan were shown arrested in an arms case filed with Shah Ali police station.

Metropolitan magistrate granted DB five days to grill Fakhrul, Sumon and Imran. In the drugs case, Rabeya and

Halima were placed on a two-day remand, while Masud and Khokan were remanded for three days.

Source:http://dhakatribune.com/politics/2013/may/25/illegal-arms-entering-dhaka-increases-ahead-city-polls
http://dhakatribune.com/author/mohammad-jamil-khanhttp://dhakatribune.com/author/md-sanaul-islam-tipuhttp://dhakatribune.com/politics/2013/may/25/illegal-arms-entering-dhaka-increases-ahead-city-pollshttp://dhakatribune.com/politics/2013/may/25/illegal-arms-entering-dhaka-increases-ahead-city-pollshttp://dhakatribune.com/author/mohammad-jamil-khanhttp://dhakatribune.com/author/md-sanaul-islam-tipuhttp://dhakatribune.com/politics/2013/may/25/illegal-arms-entering-dhaka-increases-ahead-city-polls


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DCC polls talk makes underworld vibrant with small arms

Illegal arms sneaking into country and finds way into hands of cadres in Dhaka for their high-voltage electioneering

ahead of DCC, natl polls

The underworld of capital Dhaka is turning vibrant following election talk over the bifurcated Dhaka City

Corporations North and South.

So to make hay ahead of the crucial capital city polls, arms smuggling gangs and arms dealers are bringing in illegal

small arms, most popular small ones, from across the border keeping an eye on the electioneering when small armsare on huge demands among cadres of most political wings and criminals-turned political activists to show up

prowess to rival fronts.

Officials of two specialized intelligence agencies confirmed the arms sneaking into the capital ahead of the elections

and told this correspondent that the intelligence teams are also getting active to cripple the arms supply route.

The intelligence agencies have also intensified their operation and specialised arms recovery drives ahead of the

DCC election and also general elections set for early next year, said DB sources.

As part of active intelligence operation to recover illegal arms, Dhaka Metropolitan Police DB team on Thursdaynight recovered six pistols and 70 round of bullets by busting a racket of small arms smuggling racket raiding on the

capitals Mohammadpur and Mirpur areas early Friday.

The DB team also detained seven members of the arms smuggling gangs along with the small arms and bullets.

Intelligence sources said, police and RAB officials were busy with different political programmes for the last couple

of months and taking that liverage arms smuggling gangs were desperately smuggling in small arms which are on

huge demand in the crime world specially ahead of any election. The arms smuggling gangs have been using 30separate routes for sneaking in small arms for sale in the capital citys underworld.

Among the small arms 9mm pistols and 7.6 revolvers are most popular among the rising criminals and political

party cadres for their handy and easy carrying nature.

As per intelligence reports, small arms use goes up alarmingly during electioneering and in all elections in the past

small arms were used for spreading spheres of influence and also for showing up prowess to rivals duringelectioneering and polls campaign. Both ruling and main opposition ward level leaders specially spend a hugeamount of money for buying arms ahead of elections for their cadres to face off their rivals in election battle. And

the use of small arms could go up alarmingly this year ahead of the most crucial elections the country is awaiting.

Though the use of small arms has reduced significantly mainly due to incidents of crossfire of criminals with Rapid

Action Battalion, but still the use could go up ahead of the two crucial election, said DB police sources on condition

of anonymity.

On the other hand, the intelligence officials are also in the field keeping in mind three key things and equipped witha list. These are names of probable ward commissioner candidates, numbers of their active cadres, how much of

them use arms, allegations against the probable candidates. The intelligence teams are also preparing a list of

probable arms users and carriers from the political cadres ahead of the elections.

Already the intelligence team had prepared a list of more than 150 people who had records of small arms use in past

and all of them are ward level leaders of political parties. And top 10 of them are very close to the possible mayoral

candidates, added the sources.

RAB Media Wing Director Commander AKM Habibur Rahman told Prime News on Thursday, RABs arms

recovery drives would continue without any pause. Whenever the RAB teams would get any tip-off they launch

operation along with its regular drives. But other intelligence agencies and their sources are working on the election

related arms traders, smugglers involved in bringing in small arms for their probable users. RABs intelligence wing

also kept the lection issues in their mind for intensifying the arms recovery drives.

Commenting on rise in use of small arms by criminals and political cadres, Habibur Rahman said, Weve beenrecovering one or two small arms on a regular basis during operations. Users are also being arrested for possessing


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illegal arms, but in many cases use of those illegal arms could not be proved beyond question. And in most of thecases carriers are not the real users of small arms. So whether those arms are being used for mugging, robbery of

manslaughter could not be differentiated and also could not eke out the real information about the use of those small

arms. But all illegal arms are being used in crimes for sure.

On small arms use, DMP Additional Deputy Commissioner (DB) Sanwar Hossain told Prime News, Criminals and

political party cadres like most small arms for their easy carrying feature and the use of small arms are going up for

easy availability of those in underworld.

He also said recently BM Shahabudding and Abbas were detained from the capital citys Purana Paltan areas while

they were selling a trading a .32 bore Taurus Magnum revolver made in Brazil with 25 rounds of bullet. Followingtheir information, more arms traders Md Rafiqul Islam, Md Abdus Sattar and Montu Mridha were captured from

Mirpur Section-1 Eidgah Math area. They were engaged in arms trading for long. During their arrest a Taurus brand

pistol made in USA was recovered with 10 rounds bullet. And these sort of foreign made small arms are quite

popular among the criminals for their effectiveness and easy carrying features, said Sanwar.

Arms Smuggling Routes

Most of the small arms sneaked into the country through Chapainawabganjs Shibganj border. RAB, police and DB

sources said, during the last one and a half years, most of the arms which were eventually recovered by the law

enforcers, had sneaked into the country through Shibganj border.

There are around 30 arms smuggling routes Chapainawabganjs Shibganj, Charghat Yusufpur BGB camp point of

Rajshahi, Godagari, Satchhari frontiers of Hobiganj, Gohira and surrounding areas of Anwara of Chittagong, North

and East ghat of Moheshkhali Dwip, Dublar char areas of the Sundarbans, Bhomra and Kaliganj point of Satkhira,

Roumari of Kurigram, Teknaf, Jointa, Chatak, Sherpur, Madhabpur, Akhaura, Potia, Dinajpur and Chittagong HillTracks frontiers with India and Myanmar. Moreover, Garo Pahar areas of Mymensingh areas have also been

identified for notorious grenade smuggling routes from neighbouring India into Bangladesh.

Arms carrying tricks

Mainly illegal drugs smugglers are engaged in arms smuggling along with narcotics from across the porus border.

They can procure anything from their Indian counterparts from drugs to arms anything. But in case arms , the

smugglers have to pay half of the price of arms in advance to Indian smugglers before their supply. It takes just twodays to reach the ordered arms to its buyers. The drug smugglers have been supplying arms to criminals as per order

and the Indian smugglers are handing over those to their Bangladeshi counterparts. Even women are being used forcarrying those arms to Indian ghats to Bangladesh by them. Even some cattle traders are also carrying arms in their

waist while bringing in cattle from India. If the arms buyers are of nearby areas then they supply those to them,

otherwise they use numerous tricks for carrying the arms for reaching their different destination across the country.

Cattle carrying trucks, goods-vegetable carrying trucks mostly used for concealing arms under those products for

reaching different destinations.

Price of illegal arms

Most people living along the border areas are poor. These poor people are being used as carriers for arms smuggling

in the guise of small vendors selling different products. A revolver made in India is usually being sold inside Indian

border for Tk 8,000 to 10,000. But after carrying it to Bangladesh border areas its price rose to Tk 25,000 to Tk

30,000. So this high profits tends these poor frontier people to get involve in arms smuggling and trading. But other

foreign brands of arms are of quite high price according to the source country. But anything could be available ifproper price is paid to the smugglers.

Local frontier sources said the number of seized arms by RAB, police and other agencies are quite poor in

comparison to the real smuggling numbers. And most arms reach their buyers without any hassle and a very few of

those are being recovered by the law enforcers occasionally, while the trade continues unabated everyday and night

due to lucrative profit and high demands of those arms inside the countrys crime world that has been thriving with

increase in various social and political crimes due to criminalization of politics.

Source: http://www.dailyprimenews.com/details.php?id=10607
http://www.dailyprimenews.com/details.php?id=10607http://www.dailyprimenews.com/details.php?id=10607


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Illegal arms entering capital ahead of city corporation

polls

DHAKA, May 24: Illegal arms dealers are bringing in different types of arms in the

capital ahead of the city corporations elections. Different crime syndicates havealready planned to use these arms in criminal activities after the city corporationpolls.

Monirul Islam, joint commissioner (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) revealedthis at a press conference at the DMP`s Media and Community Service Centre in thecapital on Friday morning following the arrest of two drug dealers who werearrested on Thursday night with six pistols from Mohammadpur and Mirpur areas.

Islam said five arms traders were arrested by a team of DB in two separateincidents at Mirpur and Mohammadpur of the capital on May 23. They were arrestedwhile dealing with arms in front of Masjidul Akbar Market under Shah Ali Police

Station. The arrested included Mobarak Hossain alias Masud, 30, and ShahidulIslam, 32. A pistol, two magazines and nine rounds of 0.3 two bore bullets wererecovered from their possession.

He said detectives later conducted raidsat Mohammadpur according to theinformation provided by Masud, thedecetives arrested illegal arms dealersFakhrul Islam Apu, 31 and SumonHossain, 24 from Humayun Road in thecapital. Before their arrest, they tried toflee away firing several shots on the

detectives. Later, they were arrested incooperation of the local people.

Detectives recovered two foreign madepistols, one revolver and 13 bullets fromSumon.

Monirul Islam said another team of detectives conducted a raid at Azizi Moholla inMohammadpur on Thursday night on the basis of the information given by Apu. Thedetectives arrested Apu`s second wife from the fifth floor of House No. 13/3 andseized two foreign made pistols and six rounds of bullet from her possession.

At that time, the detectives also arrested Kamruzzaman Imran, 26, Halima AktarLiza, 22 and Suchanda Manna Rabeya, 19 along with 200 Yaba tablets from thehouse.

The arrested told the detectives that they had long been involved in renting arms tothe terrorists bring those from the border areas.

Monirul Islam also said arrested Apu and Imran belonged two major political parties.Apu was involved in the politics of local BNP of Comilla, while Imran was associatedwith top terror Shahadat group. Imran had also links with Shahadat in Kolkata.

The Joint Commissioner of DB said four separate cases were filed with Shah Ali and


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Mohammadpur Police Stations under the Arms and Drug Acts in connections withthe incidents.

Source: http://www.risingbd.com/english/detailsnews.php?

nssl=ec8b57b0be908301f5748fb04b0714c7&nttl=201305240333332879

Cross-border Arms Trade

Along with cows, saris, spices and other goods smuggled through the border, illegal arms are coming into thecountry and ending up in the hands of criminals

|Sadik Sagar Rahman|

The illegal goods captured by Rapid Action Battalion also include smuggled arms that end

up in the hands of miscreants across the country

The illegal buying

and selling of

firearms in the

border areas cannot

be stopped even by

the barbed wire

fences that have been

propped up between

Bangladesh and

India. Various typesof weapons, made in

India and Pakistan,

are making huge

inroads into the

country and being

sold at exorbitant

prices. These arms

end up in the handsof criminals in

different parts of the

country including

Dhaka. Even though

law enforcers

sometimes manage

to recover suchfirearms, thoseaccount for only a

small number of the

total arms in

circulation. Besides,

the illegal arms

business is getting

stronger every day

with more people

entering this

burgeoning market.

According to police,the arms market has

expanded

considerably in last

ten years with the

increasing import of

illegal weapons.Many people are

engaging themselves

in this business

including radical

groups, criminals,

students,
http://www.risingbd.com/english/detailsnews.php?nssl=ec8b57b0be908301f5748fb04b0714c7&nttl=201305240333332879http://www.risingbd.com/english/detailsnews.php?nssl=ec8b57b0be908301f5748fb04b0714c7&nttl=201305240333332879http://firstnewsmagazine.com/live/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2136:cross-border-arms-trade&catid=67:nation-in-the-newshttp://www.risingbd.com/english/detailsnews.php?nssl=ec8b57b0be908301f5748fb04b0714c7&nttl=201305240333332879http://www.risingbd.com/english/detailsnews.php?nssl=ec8b57b0be908301f5748fb04b0714c7&nttl=201305240333332879http://firstnewsmagazine.com/live/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2136:cross-border-arms-trade&catid=67:nation-in-the-news


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unemployed youth,returnees,

activists of political parties and so on. Even women of different ages have become involved with this illegal trade.

Due to this uncontrolled market expansion, law enforcers are finding it increasingly difficult to curb the business

and recover arms. One of the ways to cut the flow early on is to go to the source, that is increase vigilance at

Bangladesh-India border.

Sources inside the police headquarters have claimed that the law enforcers recovered 2,500 pieces of firearms in

2012. Among them, 245 arms were recovered in January, 275 in February, 174 in March, 161 in April, 203 in May,

143 in June, 181 in July, 188 in August, 204 in September, 210 in October, 195 in November, and 215 in December.

But it is common knowledge that the weapons recovered is only a small percentage of the actual number that is inthe possession of illegal owners. Along with the guns a good number of bullets are also crossing borders. According

to some police officers, there is no guarantee if these illegal things can ever be rescued.

Regular seizure of illegal weapons is hardly putting any dent on their flow into the

country

Police sources said

that around 1,500

cases were filed last

year in connection

with possession and

peddling of illegalarms. Some 2,600

people with arms had

been arrested in

connection with

these cases. But that

was not enough to

slow down the

business, despite theawe-inspiring

presence of the

cross-border barbed

wires. The police

said a strong

syndicate is active in

the region to protect

the interests of the

illegal traders. They

have their own ways

of keeping contactwith each other,

which help keep the

business afloat even

if a trader is caught

by police. As a

result, the trafficking

of weapons goes oneven after a few

traders are put

behind the bar. When

police arrests the

members of a

syndicate, itssolution is simple:

recruit newmembers.

Like the multilayered

security network of

the law enforcers,

these syndicates have

their own security

layers, making it

impossible for the

police to arrest all of


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them at any giventime. A group of

them performs the duty of fetching weapons from one side to another side of the border. Then they provide the

weapons to the second group by passing the border safely. This group then hands over the arms to their godfather,

who has links with criminals across the country. They sell those arms for quite a hefty amount of money.

According to a detective source, people from different occupations and ages are involved with illegal arms business.

Mostly people get attached to this business for earning more money within a short time. One can make a profit of

15,000 to 20,000 taka by selling one gun. Sometimes they can make more profits than that. Therefore, more and

more people including students are getting into this business. This information came out from investigation reports

of those captured with arms. Women are also involved in carrying the arms. They get 2,000 taka to 3,000 taka as apayment.

Moshiur Rahman, an additional assistant commissioner of police in the Detective Branch, said that an arms dealer

called Kazi Aminul Islam alias Shamim has been recently arrested from the Fokirapul area of the capital city. While

on remand, he told the detectives that he used to purchase Pakistani and Indian arms from Comilla, Brahmanbaria

and Akhaura borders. There are many illegal businessmen like him. Shamim also told that a revolver or a pistol may

cost anywhere between 40,000 taka and 80,000 taka. Robbery, hijacking, murder, intimidation, extortion and such

other crimes can be committed with those small firearms.

He also said that incidents of robbery are increasing due to the illegal weapons. A person named Jasim Uddin had

been abroad for a long time. After he came back last year, all his accumulated wealth and savings were spent and he

became involved with robbery and hijacking by purchasing an Indian pistol which cost him 70,000 taka.

It has been known from people in the border areas that along with cows, drugs and arms also enter the country.

Those who bring cows, also bring illegal arms. Furthermore, they also bring saris, three-piece dresses, spices,

cosmetics and other things along with arms.

source:http://firstnewsmagazine.com/live/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2136:cross-border-

arms-trade&catid=67:nation-in-the-news

Who are these bombs and weapons for?Ekram Kabir

The recent spate of political unrests in Bangladesh has been witnessing quite a lotof bomb blasts. People fear that this unrest is likely to continue across the country.

And that means there would be many more blasts and perhaps there would bemany more casualties because of the use weapons and explosives.Lets have a look at a few incidents taking place over the last one month or so: abomb was blasted in front of the hotel where the Indian president was stayingduring his visit; two bombs were detonated near Ganajagaran Mancha in DhakasShahbagh area on the International Womens Day; four people were wounded inbomb blasts in Pabna town during the BNPs general strike; four police constableswere wounded in an bomb explosion in Chittagong.And again, if we look at the recent report on an arms cache on the other side of theborder, we should certainly have reasons to shiver in fright. Police in Mizoram said

they have proof that the 33 sophisticated arms seized from a private farmhousenear Lengpuri Airport on 7 and 8 March, were to be delivered to the ParbattyaChattagram Jana Sanghati Samity. Indian CID police reportedly said the arms - 31AK-47 rifles, a Singapore-made LMG, an American Browning automatic rifle and over800 rounds of ammunition - were smuggled from Myanmar and were to bedelivered in Bangladesh.So, according to the report, the destination of those weapons was Chittagong Hill

Tracts. That doesnt mean weapons smuggling doesnt happen in other places ofthe country. Look at another report. The Financial Express carried a UNB report on18 February 2012 titled Cadres buying smuggled small arms: Intel report, saying
http://firstnewsmagazine.com/live/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2136:cross-border-arms-trade&catid=67:nation-in-the-newshttp://firstnewsmagazine.com/live/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2136:cross-border-arms-trade&catid=67:nation-in-the-newshttp://firstnewsmagazine.com/live/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2136:cross-border-arms-trade&catid=67:nation-in-the-newshttp://www.natunbarta.com/english/Defence-and-Strategy/2013/03/15/272/Who-are-these-bombs-and-weapons-for?http://firstnewsmagazine.com/live/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2136:cross-border-arms-trade&catid=67:nation-in-the-newshttp://firstnewsmagazine.com/live/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2136:cross-border-arms-trade&catid=67:nation-in-the-newshttp://www.natunbarta.com/english/Defence-and-Strategy/2013/03/15/272/Who-are-these-bombs-and-weapons-for?


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that the country's law and order situation might become unstable as cadres ofdifferent political groups were learnt to have been buying smuggled small firearms.

The report quoted the intelligence sources that increasing use of small firearms indifferent criminal activities, including murder, robbery and extortion, has led to anincrease in smuggling firearms from across the border. The intelligence agenciesalso said despite strong security measures, syndicates from two sides of the borderare engaged in arms smuggling. According to the report, in Dhaka alone 40syndicates are operating in selling illegal firearms.

Other reports say Bangladesh's sea ports, coastal regions and frontier areas close toMyanmar and India have been and are serving as safe sanctuaries for powerfulinternational and regional cartels involved in supply of illegal arms, explosives andammunition through various channels. Well-established drug-running networks arealso used to traffic arms. An estimated 600 to 700 units of firearms enterBangladesh through the border from India and Myanmar every month. At least 37illegal arms-smuggling syndicates are active in the Chittagong region.Well, the cross-border shipments of illegal weapons show that theres a demand forthem in Bangladesh. This country is a fertile ground for selling illegal weapons. Theresult? The result of these illegal trades in weapons is: according to an estimate

about 200 innocent people were killed and more than 1000 wounded in bombexplosions since 1999. Some of the injured never recovered and became disabledand the rest are still traumatized.

Theres, however, no official figure on the number of illegal small arms and otherweapons in the country, but media reports show that many in the country areconcerned about it and questioning about arms suppliers. But very few havequestioned the demand side of the matter. If there were no 'demand' for guns inBangladesh, why would any supplier send or bring arms in the country? And ofcourse, somebody must be gaining from the use of illegal guns.

The society in Bangladesh has gradually become a 'weaponised' one. The most non-

violent person in the country today also feels the urgency of possessing a weaponfor his/her and family's security. This cannot continue for long. There has to be anawakening on adopting a 'human security' perspective that focuses on the humancosts of the widespread availability of small arms. This means greater attention toviolations of human rights and humanitarian laws, and to the impact that thesearms have on public health, public safety, and the prospects for humandevelopment.According to Neila Husain, Bangladesh chief of the London-based NGO Saferworld,small arms are widely used in Bangladesh and account for at least 11 per cent of itscrimes. Police, however, believe the percentage is much higher. The officer-in-charge of the Mirpur Police station Kazi Wazed Ali was quoted in the media as

saying: "The small arms, both locally-made and foreign, are very frequently used bythe local goons and criminals. The number of crimes could have been lower if wecould stop the use of small arms. This police officer seems quite sincere in his dutyand objective of a professional. But many of his colleagues are not. A May 2012report said two police officers were arrested with weapons and ammunition alongwith 50,000 taka from Rajarbagh Police Line.So, the problem is multifaceted; many people are involved in weaponizing thecountry. First, theres a cartel who wants to sell weapons in this country. Therebusiness wouldnt be good if Bangladeshis stopped political feuds, stoppedrobberies and stopped settling disputes with guns. This cartel certainly needs helpfrom the local people (especially the law enforcers as well as influential people) in


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order to keep up their business. And interestingly they have been getting immensehelp in this regard, otherwise there wouldnt be any arms smuggling in this country.Interestingly, the governments that were in charge since the independence hadlittle effort in preventing the proliferation of weapons in the country. At the sametime, the politicians who aspired to be at the helms of affairs also showed littleeffort to prevent the use of fire arms in political activism. Rather, the entire politicalarena became weaponized before their very eyes. The problem has gone to suchextent that the law enforcers seem helpless in the face of this weaponization.

But no-one is seriously thinking about the illegal weapons direct and indirecteffects on the country's social, economic and political problems. The people whohave been losing their lives are all innocent citizens, whom the leaders have vowedto protect. Its their responsibility to prevent this weapons and explosivesproliferation in order to stop the deaths.Who are we letting die with these illegalsmall arms? They are all Bangladeshi citizens, for Gods sake.

Source: http://www.natunbarta.com/english/Defence-and-Strategy/2013/03/15/272

Cadres buying smuggled small arms: Intel report

Country's law and order situation might become unstable as cadres of different

political groups were learnt to have been buying smuggled small firearms, reports

UNB.

Intelligence sources told the news agency Saturday that increasing use of small

firearms in different criminal activities, including murder, robbery and extortion,

have increased the smuggling of firearms from across the border.

They said syndicates from two sides of the border control such smuggling of

firearms. Despite strong security measures, gunrunners are bringing in the firearms

amid rising demand from political cadres for creating violence in the country.

The sources informed that in capital Dhaka alone 40 syndicates are operating to

deal with illegal fire arms. These syndicates keep constant contacts with the

gunrunners from across the border.

The smugglers sell the small firearms and also explosives to terrorist groups in

Dhaka, Chittagong and other places across the country. Gangsters prefer small

firearms because these are less risky to carry than heavy weapons.

According to a key intelligence agency, India-made small arms named as

'Belgharia', 'Moyur' and 'Chhakka' are being smuggled into the country through the

southwestern frontier, which is easier for transportation.

Besides, single shooter gun, revolver, pistol, sten gun and rifle also enter into the

country through the northeastern frontier.

On an average, each firearm is sold between Tk 25,000 and over Tk 0.1 million.

Unsuspecting low income people are often used as carriers of the smuggled

firearms.

According to Bangladesh Development Partnership Centre (BDPC), a non-
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government institution, there are nearly 0.4 million unauthorised firearms in the

country, of which about 0.2 million are being used in terrorist activities.

BDPC says political party cadres control about 50 per cent of the illegal arms while

30 per cent by smugglers and 20 per cent by outlawed outfits and robbers in the

coastal areas.

The intelligence agencies have advised the government machinery to take

immediate steps to put a stop to the smuggling of firearms and explosives that maybe used in terrorist activities by political groups.

The agencies said such smuggled firearms may also be used by the underground

outfits to create instability in the country.

Source: http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=120706&date=2012-02-19

No room for failure to seize illegal arms

The prevalence of small arms, mainly smuggled from across the border, around the country,including the capital Dhaka, has for long been a huge concern among the people in general. But

with the occurrence of a number of criminal incidents such as killing, extortion, mugging, etc

involving the use of such firearms taking place in the capital and elsewhere in the past few days,it appears that the menace has recently assumed an increased proportion. Even intelligence

sources, quoted in a New Age report on Saturday, have referred to the fact. What is, meanwhile,

more alarming is that as Detective Branch officers pointed out in the report, the weapons such asrevolvers and pistols, smuggled by several organised groups, are being sold at a premium to

unprofessional groups mostly aged between 18 and 28 who largely commit crimes in a

scattered way. Such offenders generally stay out of the dragnet of the law enforcement agencies,including the police, usually busy dealing with professional criminal groups.Detective Branch sources have also pointed out that while most of the small arms used by

criminals are made in India and smuggled into the country through different borders and coastal

routes, some Pakistan-made arms also illegally enter the country through India. Besides, to addto the consternation, even medium arms such as rifles, single-shooter guns, Sten guns, etc are

being smuggled through different frontiers. The entire scenario reveals that the forces deployed

along the border to prevent illegal entry of people and goods into the country fail to deliver asexpected. Allegations have it that corruption pervasive for long in the forces is mainly to blame

for all this. It is also true that the people who mastermind smuggling, be it of arms, drugs or of

any other illegal goods, always maintain strong connections with the ruling quarters and are able

to continue with their misdeeds a fact that is also attributable to the failure of the police andother crime-busting units to address the issue effectively. Although the top brass of the police

claim to have conducted some successful drives against illegal arms dealers in recent months, it

cannot be denied that such drives still remain episodic. Additionally, it is also commonplace thatthe latter easily escape punishment in court using the loopholes in laws.

The government needs to realise that an unabated surge in crimes ever since its assumption of

office in 2009 has already posed a huge threat to the safety and security of the peoples lives andproperty. If illegal arms are allowed to prevail, law and order will invariably take a turn for the

worse. Hence, it indeed immediately needs to crack down on illegal arms, not to mention crimes,

petty and serious.
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Source:http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-10-07&nid=26111#.Ua49NtiIzfY

Dhaka to Share Arms Smuggling Information With Delhi

Bangladesh will share substantive and conclusive information with Delhi on the April 2

arms haul in Chittagong. Foreign Minister M. Morshed Khan said this after Indian High

Commissioner Veena Sikri met him at the Foreign Ministry.

We understand Indias concern over the arms haul, Morshed said after an hour-long meeting

with Sikri.

India expressed its concern over smuggling of huge arms and ammunition into Bangladesh

through the sea route as Delhi feared that the weapons were perhaps destined for Indianinsurgents operating in the bordering northeastern states. The Indian envoy conveyed the Indian

concern.

But Khan said in categorical terms that the huge consignment of illegal weapons seized in the

southeastern port city of Chittagong was not at anyones hint or directive.

But because of vigilance of our intelligence, the arms were seized. If those arms could enter, it

could have created havoc inside the country, he told reporters later.

The foreign minister said the arms haul is the primary concern of the government and of

Bangladesh.

Asked about Veena Sikris meeting with him, Khan said it was a preset meeting when theydiscussed all matters of bilateral interest.

Asked if the April 2 arms haul cropped up in the course of discussion, he said everything wasdiscussed.

About some Indian media report linking Dhaka-Delhi bilateral relations with the findings of theinvestigation into the arms smuggling, Khan said it doesnt matter who speaks what. However,

he said, We understand their (Indian) concern and we will keep them abreast when such

situation arises.

The Foreign Minister said an investigation team led by the home secretary is working on thearms haul. Some people have already been arrested while the police hunt went on for some

others. If those wanted persons could be arrested, the mystery behind the illegal arms would be

revealed.

Well dig it out for our own interest since the matter is linked with our national security, Khansaid, adding, We dont want to jump to any conclusion before the finding of the inquiry

committee. All concerned will be informed about the findings.

About the Chittagong mayors recent remarks about involvement of some foreign countries in

the arms deal, the foreign minister said the mayors comment was disowned by his party. It maybe out of his imagination. Mayor A.B.M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury, a top leader of the opposition

Awami League, blamed the United States and Pakistan for the arms smuggling into Bangladesh.
http://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-10-07&nid=26111#.Ua49NtiIzfYhttp://www.newagebd.com/detail.php?date=2012-10-07&nid=26111#.Ua49NtiIzfY


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RAB unearthed an illegal arms factory and arrested seven militants with some firearms at Bhagaban Tila inSitakunda sub-District of Chittagong District where two terrorist groups, "Yakub Bahini" and "Sadek Bahini", were

holding clandestine meetings. The arrested militants are identified as Sadek, Kashem, Nur Islam, Badsha, Osman,

Jashim, and Al-Amin Sagar. The recovered arms include seven light guns, one single barrel gun, one revolver, six

cartridges, and five machetes.

Bangladesh Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir said at his secretariat office that an extradition treaty between

Bangladesh and India is likely to be signed during Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde's Dhaka visit later this

month.

Police arrested an alleged 'regional leader' of the Red Flag faction of the PB: CP from Mojahid club area in thePabna town of Pabna District. The arrestee is identified as Munnaf Hossain (38) of Lokkhipur village in Ataikula

sub-District of the District. Police also recovered a light gun and one bullet from him.

Source: http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/bangladesh/timeline/index.html
http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/bangladesh/timeline/index.htmlhttp://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/bangladesh/timeline/index.html

bonanza of arms trade in unrestinflow of illegal small arms on the rise

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