Nasir Uddin, known locally as "Gold Nasir", made headlines by setting up a farm for camels, the ships of the desert, in Putkhali village of Benapole on the Jashore border. Seven huge camels were kept on the farm, causing a great stir among people in Putkhali and nearby areas. People came from far and wide to see them, taking photos and videos with the camels, and the place took on a lively atmosphere.

But there is no longer a single camel on the farm. Of the seven, one was sold locally for Tk 24 lakh, and the other six were taken to Chattogram for sale. They were sent on the night of Tuesday (27 May).

According to locals and police, Nasir Uddin, son of the late Budo Sikder of the border village of Putkhali, has long been involved in smuggling illegal arms and gold, which is why local people know him as "Gold Nasir". He recently made news with the camel farm. Besides cattle, goats and bulls, this time he set up a camel farm.

Farm manager Al Amin said Nasir Uddin imported seven camels from Saudi Arabia about a year ago and began raising them on his farm in Putkhali. One was sold from there, and traders from Chattogram took the other six for sale. There are no camels left on the farm now.

He said one camel yields 13 to 14 maunds of meat. Nasir already has a commercial cattle farm, where many animals are now ready for the sacrifice.

The manager said the camels were kept healthy with special care. They were bathed every day and fed soybean oilcake, maize, grass and chickpeas, following a special daily diet.

Although it is claimed that the camels came from Saudi Arabia, locals and the livestock department have doubts.

Locals allege the camels were not brought from Saudi Arabia but smuggled in from Rajasthan in India and put on the farm. On this side of the Ichamati river on the border is Benapole's Putkhali, and on the other side is the Angrail border of Bongaon. Gold Nasir has smuggled goods in the area with a free hand in the past, so many say the camels were brought from India while Saudi Arabia is being publicised.

Sharsha upazila livestock officer Dr Tapu Saha said the farm owner could not be found despite several attempts to verify whether the camels really came from Saudi Arabia.

District livestock officer Rashedul Haque said the same. No information on any camel import had been found, he said; bringing such animals from abroad normally requires approval from the Department of Livestock Services.

Several attempts to reach the farm owner, Nasir Hossain, by mobile phone for comment found it switched off.

Deputy Commissioner Azaharul Islam said legal action would be taken if there were any irregularities regarding the camel farm.

According to police and various intelligence reports, the farm owner "Gold Nasir" has been caught by police several times before with gold and weapons. On 14 February 2023, the BGB recovered 42 gold bars weighing 8 kg 974 grams from a private car in the Ramnagar area; the gold belonged to Nasir. Then on 23 September the same year, Nasir was caught by RAB with two foreign pistols, a one-shooter gun, three revolvers and 19 rounds of ammunition. After about 19 months in jail in that case, he came out on bail only a few months ago.

Jashore Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration and Finance) Nur-e-Alam Siddiqui said that although there are several cases against Nasir Hossain, as far as he knows he is on bail. Any new complaint against him will be looked into, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.