74 Yaba Godfathers, Dealers: ACC starts enquiry into their wealth

The Anti-Corruption Commission has launched a probe into the wealth of 74 “drug peddlers” in Cox’s Bazar.

The commission yesterday asked its officials concerned to initiate the enquiries.

“In March, we received a letter from the home ministry asking us to carry out an enquiry into the wealth of 101 drug peddlers,” said an ACC official requesting anonymity.

Of the 101, the ACC was already probing the wealth sources of 26. Another suspect named in the list was killed in “a gunfight”, he said.

On March 3, the superintendent of police in Cox’s Bazar, in a letter to the Police Headquarters, requested that the wealth of the individuals named in the drug peddlers’ list be probed by agencies like ACC, Criminal Investigation Department, and National Board of Revenue.

The drug peddlers named in the list surrendered to police on February 16 and agreed to cooperate with the authorities investigating their wealth, reads the letter.

“…The drug peddlers who have surrendered have amassed huge wealth through drug business,” it added.

The letter also attached profiles of the drug peddlers.

The ACC earlier launched enquiries into the assets of over 200 individuals named in a list of drug traders prepared by the narcotics department in 2017.

But the investigation stumbled as most of the addresses in the list were inaccurate.