The crack forces arrested the former lawmaker acting on a tip off as he was coming out of Chittagong Club around 12:45am.

Sarwar Jamal is a brother of Maruf Nizam, the alleged mastermind of the abduction and murder of Chittagong business tycoon Jamal Uddin.

Sarwar Jamal also have allegations against him of smuggling, interfering with government's tendering process and with the official duties of the police forces in his constituency.

Sources said he is also accused of helping the sensational offloading of ten trucks of firearms in the port city as well as of amassing a large amount of properties from unknown sources.

After the arrest, Sarwar Jamal was taken to Rab-7 head quarters at Patenga where members of the joint forces, intelligence agencies, the task force and Rab were interrogating him.

He was later produced before a court shown as arrested under the Emergency Power Act 2007 and in connection with a general diary (GD) filed with Patenga police station last evening.

The court of Metropolitan Magistrate Moksedur Rahman sent him to jail custody.

The law enforcers also arrested Sarwar Jamal's chauffeur Md Mamunur Rashid, 35, and seized the Pajero sports utility vehicle that was carrying the former lawmaker.

Three bottles of foreign hard liquor and five cans of foreign beer were also recovered from the vehicle.

The joint forces also searched through Sarwar Jamal's city residence on Zakir Hossain Road under Khulshi police station but they could not recover anything important from there.

During interrogation, Sarwar Jamal denied having any link with or knowledge of fertilizer smuggling, off-loading of ten-trucks of fire-arms, and the abduction and murder of Jamal Uddin, said the sources.

Sarwar Jamal has properties worth of several crores of taka including two garment factories, two fishing trawlers, two palatial houses, and four luxury automobiles.

During the interrogation however Sarwar Jamal claimed that the properties had belonged to him even before he was elected a lawmaker for the first time in 1996.

Regarding the liquor recovered from his vehicle he told journalists that he has been living a pious life without touching any alcoholic beverage and that he had nothing to with the recovered foreign liquors.

Sources said Sarwar Jamal maintained a well organised syndicate of smugglers in the coastal area of Anowara to smuggle out fertilizers to neighbouring Myanmar. Besides, different contraband items have also been smuggled by the syndicate sheltered by the former lawmaker.

He reportedly helped offloading of ten-truck loads of illegal firearms at the jetty of Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Limited on the bank of the river Karnaphuli on April 1, 2004.

Sarwar Jamal reportedly interfered with and obstructed police business frequently in his constituency.

He allegedly never allowed any officer-in-charge (OC) of the local police stations of Anowara and Karnaphuli to go against his favoured smuggling racket.

As many as six OCs were allegedly transferred from Anowara police station within a span of three years.

An OC, Makhfarul Islam, reportedly came under the wrath of Sarwar during his tenure at Anowara police station when two infamous robbers -- Martuza Ali and Islam -- were killed in crossfire between a criminal gang and the police.

OC Makhfarul was transferred from the police station within less than six months of joining his post.

Makhfarul's predecessor OC Mahbub Hasan, who also was not on the good book of Sarwar, was transferred from the police station within seven months of his appointment, said the sources.

Sarwar Jamal reportedly helped his brother Maruf Nizam evade the hands of justice, who was allegedly the mastermind of the abduction and killing of Chittagong business magnet Jamal Uddin Chowdhury.

After the declaration of the state of emergency a massive hunt was initiated for arresting Maruf Nizam as well as Shahjahan Omar, who is a relative of Sarwar and also a former deputy minister for law.

Members of Rab-7 of Chittagong raided in vain the house of Maruf Nizam at Masua Jharna of Dewan Bazar under Kotoali police station a few days ago.

Meanwhile talking to journalists Jamal Uddin's wife Nazma Akter said they will file a case accusing Sarwar Jamal and Shahjahan Omar of Jamal Uddin's abduction and murder.

"We have been deprived of justice for long. Sarwar Jamal delayed the trial of the case using his influence," alleged Nazma.

"We call upon the caretaker government for holding the trial and for providing justice, which might not be expected during the regime of any political government," she said.

"We also urge the caretaker government to investigate the murder where Sarwar Jamal allegedly bribed the then state minister for home to delay the trial," Nazma added.

Jamal Uddin Chowdhury was abducted on July 24, 2003 while returning to his city residence at Chandgaon from his business firm at Chawk Bazar.

Jamal Uddin's body was recovered from a remote and inaccessible hilly forest area at South Kanchan Nagar under Fatikchhari on August 24, 2005 two years and one month into his abduction.

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Inspector Anwar Hossain submitted the charge sheet of the case on July 8 accusing sixteen persons, excluding the reported mastermind of the murder, Maruf Nizam, prompting the court to order submission of a supplementary charge sheet after re-investigation.

Later, CID's Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Hamidul Haq re-investigated the case and submitted the supplementary charge sheet.

But the case had a high court stay order on it that had come on December 12, 2006.

With the period of the six-month stay order expired on June 11 the trial of the case could be started now, the sources said.

Investigating officers (IO) of the case were allegedly transferred frequently contributing to the delay in submission of the charge sheet.

As many as seven IOs had been transferred before the last IO ASP Hamidul Haq was appointed last year.