Eight lakh yaba pills seized

They are the members of the “father-son syndicate” of yaba trade.

They dominated the drug trafficking business for over the past decade in Teknaf.

In the last 10 months, they smuggled at least 30 lakh yaba pills into Bangladesh and continued drug dealing amid a country-wide crackdown.

Finally, Rab held all four members of the syndicate.

Nur Alam alias Nur Hafez, 30, Md Sohel, 27, Syed Nur, 27, and Nur Alam alias Kalu, 35, were arrested in Hnila union of Teknaf early yesterday.

Alam, whose name appears on the home ministry’s list of top yaba dealers, was the kingpin.

A Rab-7 team arrested them with 8.10 lakh yaba pills in Rangikhali area after midnight, Mashrur Rahman, assistant superintendent of police, told The Daily Star.

Officers also seized six firearms and 70 bullets from their possession.

The arrestees are the second generations of yaba traders in their families, Mashrur said.

Kalu’s father Dalilur Rahman died two years ago while the fathers of the rest are on the run, he added.

Yaar Mohammad, Sayed Hossain, and Sabbir Ahmed, fathers of Alam, Syed, and Sohel ran yaba trafficking gangs in Teknaf for a decade, the officer claimed.

On October 28, a Rab-15 team arrested a Rohingya man and recovered 8 lakh yaba pills from his possession.

During interrogation, Alam yesterday admitted that the consignment was supposed to be delivered to him, said ASP Mashrur.

“They used to hide the drugs at different houses in Teknaf, and sent those across the country through different routes,” he added.

Meanwhile, in a separate operation, a Rab-15 team arrested four men with 4,970 yaba pills in Teknaf early yesterday.

They are Kamal Hossain, 29, Akter Hossain, 32, Md Nur, 20, and Abdul Malek, 26, officials said.