Bagerhat Correspondent:

Several sources in the security agencies have said that illegal arms shipments are entering the country through seven secret routes on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. At least five active gangs are involved in this arms trade. Each of them has close links with members of the Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar. The main destination of these weapons is the Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar and the hideouts of armed groups in the three hill districts.

Sources related to the same gang, which is also involved in drug and human trafficking, say that the situation of arms smuggling from Myanmar in recent times has not been seen in the last few years. Now, along with drugs, human traffickers are also involved in the arms trade.

Cox's Bazar Police Superintendent Md. Saifuddin Shaheen said, "Five drug traffickers were arrested with two firearms, five cartridges and 2,000 yaba pills in a raid conducted in the early hours of October 5 in Maragachtala of Palangkhali Union on the Ukhia border. They brought these from the Myanmar border."

BGB surveillance has been increased, but concerns are growing Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Ramu Sector Commander Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed said that smugglers are bringing weapons from Myanmar and supplying them to Rohingya camps.

He said, “The BGB has seized more than 22 domestic and foreign weapons in the last three months.” In such a situation, despite the increased patrolling and surveillance of the BGB at the border, there are still challenges in preventing the entry of weapons.

Sources in the network of arms smuggling on seven routes said that weapons are entering through seven routes along the 271-kilometer Bangladesh-Myanmar border - Baishphari in Ghumdhum Union of Naiksyangchhari, Ghumdhum Point Balukhali Customs Ghat, Palangkhali in Ukhia, Nalbania, Unchiprang, Ulubania in Hoiyang Union, Leda-Damdamia-Jadimura-Nayapara and Baritali Canal in Hnila Union of Teknaf.

Among these routes, the routes in Baisphadi and the hilly areas are the most risky. Through here, weapons reach terrorist groups in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Five gangs active in smuggling At least five gangs are active in smuggling weapons—including four armed groups from the Rohingya camps: Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) Halim Group Nabi Hossain Group In addition, terrorist gangs from the Chittagong Hill Tracts are also involved in this.

Kefayet Ullah alias Abdul Halim has set up a hideout with his gang in Kutupalong Camp No. 7 of the Rohingya camp. Sources say that he released a video of weapons looted from a BGP base in Myanmar in February 2024.

RAB operation recovers more than 1,000 weapons RAB-15 Battalion Commander Lt. Colonel Kamrul Hasan said, “In the last one and a half years, 1,279 weapons, including 21 foreign ones, have been recovered in our operations and 163 gunmen have been arrested.”

Background on the Source and Trafficking of Weapons in Myanmar After the Rohingya Crisis in 2017, the Arakan Army (AA) took a strong position in Rakhine State. In December 2024, they took control of most of the Myanmar border areas and captured many BGP bases. ARSA and RSO members looted a huge amount of weapons left behind at that time.

Facing a food crisis, the Arakan Army started selling weapons to criminal gangs in Bangladesh. They also traded weapons in exchange for food and daily necessities. The main carriers of these weapons are the Rohingya gangs.

Locals fear, former Naiksyangchhari upazila chairman and local Jamaat leader Tofail Ahmed said at a meeting, “Daily necessities are being smuggled across the border in such a way that even Haji Biryani from Cox’s Bazar is now being served as breakfast for the Arakan Army.”

Smuggling of arms and drugs along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border has now become a major threat to the country’s security. Although law enforcement agencies have stepped up their efforts to close seven routes along the border, the dominance of Rohingya groups and the difficult mountainous terrain have made this challenge more complicated.