Tawhidul Islam, Cox's Bazar 

Following the Arakan Army's control over Myanmar’s Rakhine State, a rampant smuggling trade of daily essentials, agricultural goods, and construction materials has emerged. Amidst this, a syndicate has allegedly forged a permit from the Teknaf UNO in Cox's Bazar to smuggle a trawler loaded with construction materials to Myanmar. The incident reportedly occurred on April 30th, while transporting the materials from Teknaf to Saint Martin’s Island.As St. Martin’s Coral Island is designated an environmentally endangered area, the construction of new structures is prohibited. Transporting any construction materials by sea requires official approval from the UNO of Teknaf Upazila.On St. Martin’s Island, Cox’s Bazar district administration operates a Tourism Information and Complaint Center, managed by appointed staffer Asekur Rahman. The management committee is chaired by female Union Parishad (UP) member Mahfuza Akter, representing reserved wards 1, 2, and 3 of the island.Mahfuza Akter stated that recent storms damaged the complaint center building, prompting the need for urgent repairs. During a recent visit to the island, the Teknaf UNO inspected the damage and approved an allocation under a rural infrastructure maintenance program for its renovation. Consequently, the UNO issued a permit to staffer Asekur Rahman to transport some construction materials to the island.A copy of this permit, issued on April 28th under memo number 05.20.2290.000.09.14.25.817, was obtained by this reporter. It authorized transporting 9 sheets of corrugated tin, 70 feet of timber, 20 bags of cement, 30 cartons of tiles, and 300 feet of sand under nine specific conditions. Copies were also forwarded to the Deputy Commissioner, the commanding officers of BGB Teknaf-2 and the Coast Guard Teknaf/Saint Martin’s stations, the BGB BoP company commander, the officer-in-charge of Teknaf police station, the Saint Martin police outpost in-charge, and the chairman of Saint Martin Union.The forged version of this permit was allegedly presented at Keruntoli Jetty in Teknaf on April 30th to load the smuggled goods onto a trawler owned by Saint Martin’s resident Mohammad Alam. In this forged permit, two digits of the original memo number were altered — changing 817 to 816 — while the list of goods remained the same, except for the quantity of cement, which was increased from 20 to 400 bags.Saint Martin jetty line operator Karim Ullah confirmed being questioned by BGB members about the incident, after which he learned about the smuggling.

He reported that the trawler owned by Mohammad Alam left Saint Martin for Teknaf on April 28th and was still docked there on April 29th. On April 30th, at around 1 PM, the vessel loaded the construction materials — including the inflated amount of cement — and set sail. Normally, it would take 2-3 hours to reach the island, but by the evening of May 1st, the trawler had not arrived. Fishermen from the Naf River later reported that the trawler had been diverted to Bagguna Canal in Myanmar's Rakhine State, where the goods were offloaded.

Teknaf UNO  Sheikh Ehsan Uddin confirmed both the forgery and the smuggling incident. “We have verified the permit issued by the office against the one presented during loading. The forgery is clear,” he said, adding that legal action is underway.Investigation revealed a seven-member syndicate behind the operation, involved in longstanding smuggling of food, fertilizer, and construction materials to Myanmar via forged documents. The syndicate reportedly includes trawler owner Mohammad Alam, speedboat line operator Jahangir Alam, UP member Mahfuza Akter, district administration staffer Asekur Rahman, Saint Martin UP member Akhter Kamal, trawler captain Nurul Islam, and Teknaf resident Kefayet Ullah.This group was also implicated in a similar operation on November 12th last year, smuggling construction materials, including rods and cement, via two trawlers which later disappeared en route to Saint Martin.Attempts to reach Nurul Islam and Kefayet Ullah were unsuccessful. Phones belonging to Asekur Rahman and Akhter Kamal remained switched off, while Jahangir Alam did not answer calls. However, reporter contact was made with trawler owner Mohammad Alam and UP member Mahfuza Akter.Mahfuza Akter denied any involvement, stating she only chairs the tourism center management committee. “The permit was obtained by staffer Asekur Rahman. After hearing of the incident, I also began inquiring,” she said. She alleged that Teknaf resident Kefayet Ullah, acting on behalf of UP member Akhter Kamal, loaded the goods onto Mohammad Alam’s trawler and presented the forged permit to the authorities.She further claimed this syndicate often transports drugs under the guise of construction materials and sometimes spreads false narratives about abductions by the Arakan Army.Trawler owner Mohammad Alam distanced himself from the incident, claiming he had sold the trawler to a woman named Selina Akter from Chattogram on April 28th, providing the reporter with three one-hundred-taka stamped papers as proof. However, he could not provide a contact number for the buyer. When asked why the trawler was later used for smuggling to Myanmar, Alam suggested it might have been seized by the Arakan Army.The stamped papers named the buyer as Selina Akter, daughter of Abdus Shukkur of Haji Badsha Mia Bari, Shaheed Para Road, Chattogram.Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Salahuddin termed the involvement of an official from the district administration in such a forgery and smuggling operation “highly alarming” and confirmed a serious investigation is underway.BGB Teknaf officials declined to comment on the incident.