Nine held with 5 lakh yaba tablets in Ctg
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested nine drug peddlers and seized five lakh pieces of Yaba tablets worth Taka 15 crore from the engine room of a fishing trawler under Ghat No. 15 in Patenga Police Station in the city last night. Assistant Director (Media) of RAB-7 A R M Mozaffar Hossain confirmed the incident on Saturday afternoon. The arrest was made based on secret information that a large quantity of contraband yaba tablets was being transported to Chattogram city in a fishing boat from the border area of Cox's Bazar district. Being informed, a RAB operational team positioned themselves in Ghat No. 15 area of Patenga around 10 pm on Friday [April 10].
When a suspicious trawler arrived at the pier, RAB members surrounded it, leading some individuals on the trawler to attempt to escape upon sensing their [the elite force] presence. However, RAB conducted an immediate operation and arrested nine individuals. The detainees are Syed Alam, 45, Sultan Ahmed, 55, Md. Yusuf, 45, Md. Qasim, 30, Md. Ismail, 40, Shah Alam, 35, Azam Ullah, 57, Md. Faruk, 25, and Chanaullah, 57. RAB mentioned that some of the arrested are Rohingya citizens. RAB official Muzaffar Hossain stated that a search of the trawler revealed 500,000 pieces of yaba tablets, hidden in three plastic bags on the left side of the engine room.
The drugs were wrapped in polythene and sealed with scotch tape, he added. The estimated market value of the seized drugs is approximately Taka 15 crore. Initial interrogation revealed that the detainees were part of an organised gang that had been operating for a long time in the area. They would procure yaba tablets from the Cox's Bazar border area at low prices and distribute those to different parts of the country, including Chattogram city, using fishing trawlers through the sea, according to the confessional statement of the arrested persons. Preparations are underway to file a case against the detainees under the relevant law in this incident and the recovered narcotics have been seized. In addition, RAB said that the operation is continuing to identify and arrest others involved in this gang.
