Despite heightened surveillance, human trafficking remains widespread across the eight border points south western Moheshpur upazila of Jhenaidah.
Traffickers continue to bring people from different parts of the country and assemble them near the border. Taking advantage of gaps in enforcement, many are illegally sent into India without passports, although the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) is managing to intercept and detain some of them.
As of Sunday morning, a press release from Moheshpur 58-BGB stated it.
At the same time, the BGB reported detaining of 54 individuals while they were attempting to cross into India, including 10 men, 22 women, 20 children, and two suspected drug traffickers.
In separate operations conducted between early Friday and Sunday morning, different Border Observation Post (BOP) detained 54 people.
Assistant Director of the 58 BGB Battalion in Moheshpur Mohammad Saiful Islam issued the press release.
Various sources have indicated that human trafficking is not widespread across all Bangladesh-India border areas, but is particularly concentrated along the Moheshpur border.
Local brokers there reportedly operate with relative freedom, as efforts by the BGB and police have so far failed to curb their activities.
Consequently, individuals from different parts of the country are being brought to Moheshpur for illegal border crossings.
The sources claimed that this border has now become a safe route not only for human trafficking but also for smuggling valuable items such as gold and silver, along with other goods. Over the past four months, the BGB has seized around 102 kilograms of silver while it was being smuggled from India through this route.
Various organizations working on border issues, particularly non-governmental bodies, claim that numerous smuggling activities continue to take place undetected by the BGB.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Moheshpur Police Station, Saiful Islam, claimed that police are not responsible for preventing illegal border sneaking, as that responsibility lies solely with the BGB.
“Our role is limited to taking legal action against those detained,” he said.
In most cases, he added, the police follow court directives to send detained women and children to shelter homes run by anti-human trafficking organizations.
When talked, a BGB official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Daily Sun that the force remains on high alert to prevent criminal activities along the border.
“BGB is consistently recovering smuggled goods, and people involved in trafficking are being detained on every day,” he said.