A few yards away from the rear gate of Geneva Camp in Mohammadpur, several men were selling heroin, cannabis and yaba in broad daylight. Holding polybags full of narcotics, they called out to potential buyers as pedestrians walked past.
This was the scene at midday in the neighbourhood on April 20.
For decades, Geneva Camp has been known as one of Dhaka’s most notorious drug hubs, with the illegal trade surviving successive governments and countless “special drives.”
Residents say the scenario changed after August 2024. The narcotics trade, which was mostly confined to the camp’s narrow alleys, has spilled onto the main streets. And it has become more organised.
To control lucrative spots, rival groups get locked in clashes, which have intensified amid lax law enforcement following the July mass uprising, say camp residents. At least 10 people have been killed in clashes over the last 19 months, according to media reports.
Despite frequent raids and installation of police checkpoints in Mohammadpur area, the drug trade continues almost uninterrupted.
Inside the camp, many believe that information on raids is leaked to the kingpins beforehand. Only drug carriers, sellers and buyers are frequently arrested, while those controlling the flow of narcotics remain untouched.
Camp sources said a section of law enforcers and their informants have helped the ringleaders evade arrest in exchange for money. This is why the drug network could not be dismantled.
Some people who once struggled to make ends meet have amassed huge wealth, thanks to the illegal trade. For them, punishment or imprisonment no longer serves as a deterrent.
OPEN TRADE
Drugs worth over Tk 1.5 crore are sold there every day, attracting a new, more aggressive generation of dealers, according to camp sources.
The scale of the trade is reflected in past recoveries. In two drives in June and August last year, army personnel seized Tk 1.13 crore from a group of dealers and Tk 2.45 crore from another group.
In February this year, police seized 1.5kg heroin valued at roughly Tk 1.5 crore from the camp. But it hardly impacted the illegal trade.
Sources said marijuana became available in the camp in 1972, a few months after its establishment, but its sales rose after 2000. Yaba was first brought to the camp in 2010, and its trade peaked in 2022.
These correspondents recently visited several drug spots and saw dealers selling drugs openly. Along the footpaths of Humayun and Babar roads, they traded purias or small packets of marijuana, yaba and heroin.
In nearby alleys, transactions took place swiftly. Some buyers arrived on motorcycles, handed over cash, collected purias and left, while several others walked up slowly to sellers to buy heroin and yaba.
During one of the visits, a man in threadbare clothes was seen buying two purias of heroin from a dealer for Tk 400.
Identifying himself as Muklesur Rahman, the man said he has been addicted to heroin for 28 years.
“Back then, I used to buy a puria for Tk 12 and share it with another addict,” said the 55-year-old man in a raspy voice.
Muklesur, who is from Munshiganj, said he has a wife and two daughters, but is no longer in touch with them. He now sleeps on the streets, and begs to fund an addiction that already consumed more than half his life.
Many of the sellers are also trapped in a similar cycle.
Seeking anonymity, a 27-year-old cannabis dealer, who once worked at a clothing store, said he got addicted to marijuana about a decade ago.
During a raid on the camp several years ago, he was arrested for possessing cannabis. But he was sent to jail on drug peddling charges. To facilitate his bail, he borrowed Tk 10,000 with interest. As he failed to pay the loan in time, he was approached by a drug trader who advised him to sell narcotics for a few days.
The man claimed that he was later implicated in two other cases and now faces at least 10 cases.
“Life in the camp or in jail is almost the same… But if you have money, you can live better in jail. People like me are not much afraid of landing in jail.”
The profit margins explain why sellers like him take the risk. They buy heroin for Tk 160 per puria and sell it for Tk 200. For yaba, the profit margin is up to Tk 100 per puria and for marijuana it’s Tk 60.
Some sellers said they earn between Tk 10,000 and Tk 15,000 a day.
The trade runs round the clock, with activities peaking between 10:00am and 2:00pm, and again from 7:00pm to 10:00pm.
Sources said around 500 people inside the camp are directly involved in drug trade, while the ringleaders operate from outside. Over 50 lookouts have been set up near Suhrawardy Hospital, Shishu Mela and Residential Model School, where informants observe law enforcers’ movements and alert dealers. They get Tk 1,000 to Tk 2,000 each per day.
THE NETWORK
About a decade ago, two drug kingpins -- Ishtiaq and Nadim alias “Pochish” -- largely controlled narcotics trade in the camp.
Nadim was killed in a gunfight with Rab members in 2018, while Ishtiaq died of Covid while receiving treatment in India in 2021.
Following their deaths, the illegal trade fell into the hands of small groups that now operate under two major rival gangs, locals said.
One is run by Sohel, locally known as “Buniya Sohel” and “Popla Munna”, while the other by Selim, known as “Chua Selim”, “Pichchi Raja”, and “Par Monu”.
Locals said that since August 5, 2024, groups led by Raja, Monu and Selim have been trying to take control of the trade from Sohel-led groups. The two sides fought on many occasions over the last 19 months.
In separate operations, Rab personnel arrested Sohel on November 1, 2024, and Selim on January 9, 2025, but both were released on bail within a few months of their arrests.
In September last year, joint forces raided two of Sohel’s hideouts and seized narcotics and weapons. A couple of months later, army personnel carried out multiple drives and recovered nearly 200 crude bombs and five kilogrammes of bomb-making materials from one of Sohel’s hideouts.
Law enforcers seized 77 crude bombs, 400 grammes of gunpowder, four samurai swords, yaba, heroin and Tk 4.25 lakh from Sohel’s den on November 26. Sohel and his associates escaped.
Three days later, 50 members of rival groups attacked Sohel and his accomplices in Block-4 and 7, leaving him critically injured. Upon receiving information, joint forces rushed to the spot and took him to hospital. Police later showed him arrested in a narcotics case.
Hours later, two of his associates were arrested inside the camp with two pistols and six rounds of ammunition.
With Sohel behind bars, groups led by Raja, Monu and Selim now control the drug trade, said locals.
Over the past few weeks, police conducted several raids in and around the camp and arrested dozens of suspects. The drug trade, however, continues.
When contacted, Abdullah Al Mamun, assistant commissioner of DMP’s Mohammadpur Zone, said police are conducting raids in the Geneva Camp area almost every day. Many have been detained, and a number of them are now in jail.
Asked why the ringleaders have not been caught, he said the key operators stay outside the camp. They visit the camp secretly for a brief period and leave unnoticed. Several of them have been identified and efforts are underway to arrest them.
Regarding allegations that some law enforcers tip off ringleaders about raids in exchange for bribes, he said, “We also hear such allegations, but we have yet to get any evidence to support those.”
