On Two Wheels: Women’s Role in Brown Sugar Trafficking Raises Eyebrows
In an unexpected twist, women have become active participants in the illicit brown sugar business, challenging stereotypes about drug trafficking. Operating scooters and accompanying husbands on bikes, these women have established a unique trend in the Jaleswar area of the Baleshwar district.
The story began with the arrest of a man from Jaleswar Sekbad village less than a year ago, who was caught with brown sugar by the Kolkata Police. Despite his arrest, the network remained, now under the management of his wife. The woman regularly acquires brown sugar from a relative in Kanthi, West Bengal, breaking them into smaller pieces to distribute in Jaleshwar and neighboring areas like Solpata, Mohanpur, Dantun, Sunakania, and Belda. In a covert operation, she sells brownies to retailers and loyal customers in a bushy secluded area near her home.
The woman’s family, including her mother and brother, actively supports her in the business. Additionally, her sisters in Sasanbad village are engaged in similar business, one dealing with brown sugar while walking and the other with a scooter. Another woman from Jhadeswarpur village disguises her brown sugar trade in the name of the cosmetic shop along the Subarnarekha river. Seeing the time, she travels to various locations on a scooter to deliver brown cigarettes to traders and customers.
The narrative extends to a woman who marries two men, one from Kharagpur and the other from Rajpur, and works in the brown sugar trade. Using her connections, she transports brown sugar to Jaleshwar via Kharagpur husband and sells it in other regions with Rajpur husband. Two married women from Patharpura and Rajpur villages also independently operate brown sugar businesses in their own scooters.
Beyond the district, a woman from Patharpura village works with infamous drug dealers in Aakanda near Belda, West Bengal, to obtain brown sugar. Wearing burqas to conceal their identities, trafficked women make it challenging for the police to track their involvement in the illegal trade.
