Irregularities including theft and missing of goods at Carew & Co. (Bangladesh) Ltd, a traditional industry in the southwestern district of Chuadanga’s Darshana, have become a common phenomenon, thanks to the indifference of the authorities concerned. The mismanagement has apparently turned into a rule at the industry which is embroiled in ongoing issues of theft, particularly concerning foreign liquor. It also produces various alcoholic beverages along with sugar and vinegar. Despite the authorities forming probe committees and imposing temporary punishments on those found guilty, these offenders often return to their illicit activities shortly after, leading to the establishment of a racket. This situation continues even after the recent change in government following mass upsurge. Ahead of the Durga Puja, the syndicate has again become more active than ever as the demand for the liquor increases several times this time, said sources. On September 30, six bottles of foreign liquor were recovered from a toolbox of an electrician in the distillery department of the organization. Although the initial response was to downplay the incident until it became public knowledge. Read: Sugarcane threshing begins at Drashana's Carew & Co sugar mill  Last June, an allegation of missing 13,000 liters of DS spirit from the distillery department surfaced. Additionally, accusations of financial irregularities concerning the permanent hiring of 104 workers emerged in May, leading to legal action against several people, including the former Managing Director Mosharraf Hossain, Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) President Sabuj and General Secretary Masud respectively. The Carew & Co. (Bangladesh) Ltd is the only profitable state-owned sugar mill in the region, yet its alcohol production has become a significant source of profit. While law enforcement has made arrests related to the theft of alcohol, the company’s management appears largely indifferent to the issue. Recent police operations have intercepted several shipments of locally made and imported alcohol, leading to multiple arrests of Carew employees. Allegations suggest that labour unions have been complicit in enabling this syndicate, and some local politicians have provided protection for these operations, further entrenching the issue. Preferring anonymity, a worker of the organisation said thefts during the transportation of local liquor to various depots have been common, with drivers and workers sometimes colluding to facilitate these activities. Read more: Selling alcohol, Carew and Company earned a record Tk232.96 crore in 6 months Some workers wishing not to be named claimed that employees in the distillery department collaborate with labour union leaders to execute these thefts, which have reportedly increased during the current administration.  

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Tuesday arrested six members of an illegal kidney trading racket from the city's Norda and Joypurhat district. The arrestees were identified as Shahriar Imran Ahmed, 36, of Hobiganj, the mastermind of the gang and his associates Md Mehedi Hasan, 24, of Cumilla; Md Saiful Islam, 28, of Chandpur; Md Abdul Mannan, 45, and Md Tajul Islam, 38, of Joypurhat. According to the media wing of Rab headquarters, the intelligence branch of the elite force along with a team of RAB-5 and RAB-2 arrested the six accused after conducting drives in Joypurhat district and Dhaka’s Norda area early hours of Tuesday. Also read: Teen gangs to be reined in: Rab DG Preliminary interrogation revealed that Imran is the admin of two Facebook pages called ‘Bangladesh Kidney and Liver Patient Medical Service’ and ‘Kidney Liver Medical Service’ and so far, he has smuggled more than a hundred people to neighbouring countries to sell kidneys. The total number of members of their racket is 15-20 and they are divided into three groups to carry out the entire illegal kidney trading. The first group of the racket based in Dhaka used to communicate with affluent patients through social media in need of kidney transplantation. The second group identified the poor and needy people in remote areas of the country as per the demand of the first group and brought them to Dhaka by taking advantage of their economic condition and forcing them to become donors for kidney transplantation for money. Later, patients were made to undergo blood matching and other tests with the kidney donors at various diagnostic centres in Dhaka by the third group. Then, they prepare the victim donors to be sent to India by processing his or her passport, visa and fake documents. Another group in India in mutual connivance with this racket received the victim donors and conducted other activities including hospital documentation, surgery. After completing the transplantation, the victim was sent back to the country through north-eastern border areas. The arrestees also confessed to embezzling large amounts of money through this illegal trading of Kidneys. They used to charge Tk 15 to 20 lakh from the patients for each kidney transplant. On the other hand, they assured the kidney donor that they would be paid Tk 3 to 4 lakh and would pay Tk 2 lakh in advance. Also read: Rab exposes Bangladesh’s stunning bad billionaire Legal steps are underway against the arrestees in this regard, said the release.