RANGAMATI, Sep 12 (V7N) – The illegal trade of duty-free Indian cigarettes continues to thrive in Rangamati town, with a smuggling syndicate actively transporting and storing cigarettes through the Kaptai Lake route. Despite security forces recently intensifying their efforts against the network, the illicit trade persists. Over the past week alone, security forces in Rangamati have seized nearly two crore taka worth of illegal Indian cigarettes.
 
Acting on specific intelligence, a joint operation led by Captain Mohammad Sakif Rahman, along with the army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), was conducted on Tuesday night (September 10) in the Shaheed Minar area of Rangamati’s Reserve Bazar. During the operation, 11,970 packs of Oris Silver and 34,830 packs of Omega cigarettes, with an estimated market value of Tk 93.6 lakh, were seized from an abandoned boat along the Kaptai Lake shoreline. The contraband was later handed over to the BGB Sector Headquarters, with security forces affirming that such operations would continue to ensure peace in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
 
Despite these efforts, the illegal cigarette trade has seen significant growth in Rangamati. The smuggling operation is conducted through the Juraichhari border, where a carton of duty-free Indian cigarettes is brought into the country for Tk 2,000. At least 15 local businessmen are reportedly involved in trading Indian brands such as Mond, Moon, Omega, and Oris Silver. Investigations have uncovered that these illicit cigarettes are stored in various locations, including Samataghat in Banarupa, DC Bungalow, Tabalchhari, Karmachari Colony, Youth Development area in Vedvedi, Reserve Bazar, Shariatpur, and Puran Bosti. The cigarettes are transported in sacks wrapped in plastic on local engine boats, disguised as fishing vessels with tarpaulins.
 
The smuggling syndicate hires boats for Tk 5,000 to Tk 10,000 per trip, and a source revealed that the cigarettes are stockpiled across Kaptai Lake in Balukhali, managed by a Chakma smuggler. After making payments to local authorities, the goods are transported into Rangamati town at prearranged times. Another source indicated that a smuggler named ... Uddin brings the Indian cigarettes into Rangamati, storing them in a dealer’s storeroom in Reserve Bazar. These are then packed and discreetly transported at night via autorickshaws and taxi vans, crossing the Manikchhari-Ghagra checkpoint. Occasionally, they are shipped through courier services.
 
According to an undercover investigation, a five-member syndicate from Chittagong controls the cigarette trade. Several individuals involved confirmed that they sell one crore taka worth of cigarettes for around Tk 2.5 crore, though they are compelled to pay significant extortion fees to various local groups.
 
Since the power shift on the 5th of the month, the syndicate has had to pay Tk 6 to 10 lakh per shipment to different groups, in addition to 10 to Tk 15 lakh for other intermediaries. After accounting for these payments, the net profit stands at approximately half a crore taka. In some cases, armed groups intercept the shipments, selling the contraband elsewhere and keeping the profits.
 
Meanwhile, a reliable source confirmed that the Tk 93.6 lakh worth of cigarettes seized on Tuesday night from Kaptai Lake belonged to four individuals: Tarun, Soumen, Sohag, and Prokrito Chakma.
 
Recent reports suggest that a major indigenous regional group has invested at least Tk 10 crore into this illegal cigarette trade. A key figure from Chittagong, named ... Hasan, controls the syndicate across several border routes, including Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Cox’s Bazar, Teknaf, Feni, and Cumilla’s Chhagalnaiya. With his influence, a faction of the former ruling party extorted nearly one crore taka monthly from the Rangamati route. Since the change in power, the extortion rates have doubled, yet the cigarette trade continues uninterrupted under new management.

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