River police arrested two men with about 220kg of deer meat at Nesarabad in Pirojpur on Monday, 31 August. The raid was carried out at midday on the Belua river at Bharatkathi, led by Md Niaz Morshed, officer in charge of the Doihari river police outpost, and the meat was found on a trawler.

The arrested men are Md Khalil, 41, son of Sultan Hawlader of Khastabak village in Barguna's Patharghata upazila, and Babul Faraji, 42, son of Chan Mia Majhi of Tafalbaria village in the same upazila.

According to the Doihari river police and local sources, the raid followed a tip-off and took place near the Bharatkathi ferry ghat on the Belua river. Police searched a trawler and recovered about 220kg of deer meat, then arrested Khalil and Babul Faraji on the charge of being involved in carrying it.

Deer meat has long been alleged to reach Nesarabad illegally by various waterways from the Patharghata area of Barguna. Locals say the meat is carried on trawlers loaded with timber or golpata leaves, and even on fishing trawlers, before being handed to alleged smugglers at different places in Nesarabad.

Residents say that although a few people involved in selling deer meat have been caught in raids by the administration and law enforcers over time, the trade has not stopped. Part of the smuggled meat is allegedly kept so long that it is sold rotten, and there are also allegations that fox meat is sometimes mixed with deer meat and sold secretly to buyers.

Mehedi Hasan, officer in charge of Nesarabad police station, said: "We went to the spot on receiving information and were able to detain two people with 220kg of deer meat on a fishing trawler." He said a case was being prepared against the two, who would be sent to court the following day.

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