In the face of stern actions from the administration, notorious pirate groups of the Sundarbans have reorganised in smaller factions with the support of local fish traders.
Fishermen, who are still facing torture and abduction by pirates, alleged that the local fish traders had been helping the bandit groups survive.
They said fish traders smuggle arms, food and other necessities to the pirates groups in exchange of money.
There are at least eight or nine active pirate groups in the Sundarbans. Fishermen are often abducted by them for ransom.
Robiul Sheikh, a fisherman from Golkhali village of Koyra upazila, said some unscrupulous fish traders had been supporting the pirates in various ways. “They supply the pirates with weapons and food in the name of fish trading. They hide the arms under ice and smuggle them to the forest. In return, the fish traders make a lot of money.”
He further said some fish traders of Paikgachha and Kopilmuni had amassed a lot of wealth by helping the pirates.
“The pirate groups of Munna, Jonab, Noa Mia and Imdadul are very active in the Khulna and Satkhira range. They get support from a fish trader of Kopilmuni. These groups not only abduct fishermen but are also involved in illegal business of deer-meat. Some officials of the forest department are also a part of it,” he added.
Officer in-Charge of Koyra police station Harendranath Sarkar said: “We arrested one pirate with arms from Tala upazila on July 10. He is a member of Imdadul group. We have learnt from him that his group has contact with a fish trader of Kopilmuni. And since then we had been keeping an eye on the trader.” He however did not give out the name of the businessman.
According to other fishermen, there are about 45-50 fish traders in Koyra and Paikgachha upazila. The relationship between the fish traders and pirate groups is a mutually beneficial one. The traders supply the pirates with daily needs against which the pirates pay hefty amount to the traders.
“If we want to go fishing, we have to bribe the pirate groups. Otherwise they would abduct and torture us. Moreover, motor-driven boats are banned in the Sundarbans now. So only fishing boats can ply. This has given the fish traders exclusive privilege to control the forest,” they said.
There are also allegations of hunting deer against the pirates and fish traders. On July 11, Bangladesh Coast Guard members recovered a huge amount of deer-meat from Golkhali area. And on July 12 two boats with deer traps were seized from Jholakhali area.
A deer hunter, on assurance of anonymity, said there were 10-15 groups that hunt deer in the Sundarbans. They hunt about 35-50 deer a month and sell them to the fish traders, who sell the meat to various markets of Koyra, Paikgachha, Tala, Chuknagar and Satkhira.
Babul Sheikh, a businessman from Kopilmuni, said the trade had become risky in the Sundarbans because of the pirates. He, however, denied of any involvement with pirates and said he was no longer conducting fish business.
Station Officer of Kashiabad forest range, Mohammad Alauddin, said the number of request for boat passes had decreased in his area. “This means a low number of fish traders are going into the forest.”
He further added that he did not know about the trader-pirate relationship and had no information about deer hunting groups.
