Crime is on the rise in the Rohingya camps of Cox's Bazar, with reports of murder, kidnapping, and an alarming increase in unusual offenses such as drug trafficking, theft, cigarette smuggling, and illegal mobile phone SIM card trading.
The administration claims that all crimes are treated equally, effective steps are being taken to stop them.
On the condition anonymity an officer of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn)-8 said, “We receive various complaints from the camps including theft of solar lights and smuggling of cigarettes. We take prompt action as soon as we receive such complaints.”
To stop trade of illegal mobile SIMs a joint initiative is needed, no organization alone can stop it, he furthered.
Some 34 refugee camps sheltering the Rohingyas who fled Myanmar have become a heaven for crimes. Murders, drug dealing, kidnappings and brawl have become a common incident at those camps, at least 50 small and big terrorist groups are involved in these crimes. The list of crimes has come out at a crime statistics by the law enforcement agency.
Some unusual crimes in the camp are being added including- theft, spread of counterfeit money, illegal cigarette smuggling, illegal sale of Myanmar mobile phone SIMs, women and child abuse, Rohingya human trafficking, and crimes against digital security.
(The report was published on print and online versions of The Bangladesh Pratidin on October 04 and rewritten in English by Afsar Munna)
