Children are increasingly being used to transport and sell drugs, with some allegedly forced to carry yaba inside their bodies, raising concerns among crime experts, sociologists and human rights activists.
In a recent case, two children were allegedly made to swallow yaba capsules and taken from Cox’s Bazar to Chittagong. After the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested them, 6,615 yaba pills were recovered from their stomachs at Chittagong Medical College Hospital. They were later produced before a court and sent to a child correctional facility.
Chittagong Civil Surgeon Mohammad Sajedur Rahman said yaba is wrapped in plastic and packed into small, capsule-like packets before being swallowed.
“Carrying drugs inside a child’s body in this way is extremely risky,” he said.
If a capsule gets stuck in the intestine or bursts, the drug can quickly spread through the body, causing poisoning, serious health complications and even death, he added.
A recent visit to Gulistan, Karwan Bazar, Moghbazar, Geneva Camp in Mohammadpur, Basila and Natun Bazar-Bhatara found street children being used to sell drugs. Meanwhile, five children from four families in a village in Katiadi, Kishoreganj, were allegedly sold to raise money to buy drugs.
According to the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), children account for around 25% of those involved in drug smuggling, transportation and sales in Bangladesh, most of them under 16. The DNC said traders prefer children because they are cheap to employ and less likely to attract law enforcement attention.
Experts said children involved in the drug trade face serious risks while losing access to education, healthcare and a normal childhood.
Children used as carriers
Visits to slums, transport terminals, railway-side areas and low-income settlements found many street children involved in criminal activities, including drug transportation and smuggling.
Drugs are openly sold around Karwan Bazar, Moghbazar and Geneva Camp after evening. At Geneva Camp, children take buyers to specific alleys while others carry drugs, earning Tk20 to Tk50 per transaction.
A child living there said he does not attend school or have a job, so he takes drug buyers to different alleys at night.
Many street children were also seen consuming Dandy on the road island between Farmgate and Shahbagh, with some carrying drugs. Several said they collect plastic bottles, including from the Karwan Bazar railway line, during the day and sleep on the streets at night. They use the money to buy food, glue and Dandy.
Residents said most children in Geneva Camp do not attend school because their parents cannot afford it and do not encourage them to study. Taking advantage of their poverty, traders allegedly recruit children through their families. Residents said children are paid less, are less likely to be suspected and face relatively little punishment if caught. They estimated more than 100 children and adolescents from the camp are involved.
DNC concerned
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune yesterday afternoon, DNC Deputy Director (Operations) Mukul Jyoti Chakma said operations against drug smuggling were continuing.
“Several groups are using street children and children from poor families in drug smuggling. When children are caught, we take a humanitarian approach and ensure appropriate protection for them through the legal process,” he said.
He said the DNC was working with the Department of Social Services on child-related issues.
“Several projects are being implemented by the Department of Social Services. Under these projects, children are being provided education, healthcare, sports and vocational training,” he said.
Regarding the Chittagong incident, RAB-7 Commander Lt Col Md Mostafizur Rahman said each small capsule contained around 40 to 50 yaba pills.
A person paid each child Tk4,000, or Tk8,000 in total, and promised additional money after delivery, he said. The children told RAB they had previously travelled to Chittagong twice carrying yaba in the same way.
“This shows that the syndicate repeatedly used them to transport drugs through this dangerous method. We are working to catch the group,” he added.
Experts raise alarm
Dhaka University teacher and crime expert Dr Touhidul Haque told Dhaka Tribune yesterday afternoon that such incidents were not new.
“Drugs are being concealed inside children’s stomachs, under their skin and through their rectums. Such incidents have happened before,” he said.
He said drug traders exploit disadvantaged, extremely poor and street children.
“These children and their families are taking risks for money, which can even lead to their deaths. Since these children do not have the ability to protest or resist, those involved are taking advantage of that,” he said.
“There is a mindset that these children have no future and that it does not matter whether they live or die,” he said, urging the government to ensure they grow up in a healthy and safe environment and strictly punish groups using them.
Human rights activist Nur Khan Liton told Dhaka Tribune that children are used worldwide to carry drugs and weapons, with law enforcement agencies less likely to suspect them.
“Social resistance must be built to protect children. People must be made aware. The government must also come forward to protect extremely poor children, children separated from their families and street children,” he said.
What the law says
Supreme Court lawyer Humayun Kabir told Dhaka Tribune that the Children Act 2013 provides a separate justice system for children.
“Especially if it is found that a drug dealer has used a child, the child should not only be seen as a drug carrier but should also be investigated as a trafficking victim,” he said.
He said some parents are involved with drug gangs and could send children to carry drugs again, while others face abuse or extreme neglect. In such cases, courts may consider correctional facilities safer.
However, he said detention alone was insufficient.
“There must be arrangements for their education, healthcare, treatment, vocational training and sports. Most importantly, they need counselling,” he added.