Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and the district police have tightened security along the entire Satkhira border to stop the hides of sacrificial animals being smuggled into India through illegal routes. Intelligence surveillance has been stepped up along the border and patrols have been increased, while senior BGB officers are monitoring border activity around the clock.

Satkhira has 278 kilometres of border under three BGB battalions. Several syndicates use about 30 illegal crossing points along this long frontier for human trafficking and the smuggling of hides and other goods. The ringleaders go into hiding when law enforcers are active on the border, but local residents say syndicate members have become active again during Eid-ul-Azha.

Lt Col Mohammad Al-Mahmud, commander of 33 BGB in Satkhira, told Jagonews that extra precautions had already been taken on all border points to stop the smuggling of sacrificial hides. Members of 33 BGB are on maximum alert on the Satkhira border, patrols have been strengthened and intelligence surveillance increased.

He said the movements of smugglers on the BGB's list were being watched, and that the other two battalions had also increased their patrols.

Satkhira Superintendent of Police Mostafizur Rahman told Jagonews that checkposts had been set up at different places in the district to stop hide smuggling, and plain-clothes intelligence surveillance had been increased. No vehicle carrying hides will be allowed on any road in the border area, and no hide-carrying vehicle from other districts will be allowed to enter Satkhira. Traders may, however, take the hides they have collected to warehouses in Jashore and tanneries in Dhaka.

He said possible smugglers were under police surveillance.

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