10 lakh yaba pills seized in Ctg, Cox's Bazar
Law enforcers and border security forces yesterday seized around 10 lakh yaba pills, recovered eight firearms and arrested eight persons from Cox's Bazar and Chattogram in separate drives.
In Chattogram, Rab members recovered 20,000 yaba pills and eight homemade firearms from a microbus carrying a sticker saying “Foreign Ministry” on its windshield, at Lalkhan Bazar area yesterday afternoon.
Deputy Director (DD) Safayat Jamil Fahim of Rab-7 said Rab stopped a Dhaka-bound microbus based on a tip-off.
The vehicle, which also had another small sticker of home ministry, was carrying two persons -- Alamgir and Shahriar.
Rab recovered eight firearms and 20,000 yaba pills under a seat of the microbus, said DD Fahim.
Talking to The Daily Star, he said, “Using fake stickers of foreign ministry and home ministry, they were heading to Dhaka from Cox's Bazar's Teknaf carrying the firearms and yaba.”
“As law-enforcing agencies usually do not check government's logo-inscribed vehicles, the peddlers took the chance,” he said, adding that Rab confirmed it's not an official vehicle of any ministry after inspection.
Meanwhile, Assistant Director (AD) of Rab-7's Media Wing Mimtanur Rahman said Rab personnel held three persons -- Sohel, Faisal and Manik -- from a room of Hotel Martin on Station Road in the city following a tip-off, and seized several bamboo brooms from them.
Rab found 154,450 pieces of yaba pills from inside the bamboo handles of the brooms, and arrested the trio, said the AD. The arrestees said they collected the pills from Cox's Bazar and were trying to get the consignment to Dhaka.
Elsewhere in port city, Assistant Commissioner (AC) (South) Mobassher Hossain of DB said a team of DB stopped a Chattogram-bound lorry coming from Cox's Bazar, at Fishery Ghat.
Searching the van, DB men recovered 50,000 yaba pills concealed inside a secret chamber of its body, and detained two persons -- Sumon and Morshed -- at around 6:45am, said the AC.
The arrestees were handed over to concerned police stations and cases were filed against them.
MASSIVE HAUL IN COX'S BAZAR
In Cox's Bazar, around 9 lakh pieces of yaba were recovered and a drug trader was arrested yesterday, in separate drives at the beach area adjacent to Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive and Oliabad.
The value of the Yaba tablets was estimated at Tk 24 crore.
Police, BGB and Rab in separate drivers made the haul.
Cox's Bazar additional police super (Ukhia circle) Nihad Adnan Tanvir said, police went to conduct a raid on a fishing trawler at the beach area adjacent to Noakhali Para. Sensing their presence, the yaba smugglers fled. The team recovered sacks full of 6 lakh tablets in abandoned state.
Meanwhile, Lt Col Asaduzzaman Chowdhury, commander of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB-2) in Teknaf said a BGB team recovered a sack full of yaba, found floating in the sea at Noakhali Para river ghat point in the morning. Around 110,000 pills were found in the sack.
The recovered yaba have been deposited with the Battalion Sadar, he added.
Elsewhere, a Rab team conducted a raid at OIiabad area in the town and recovered 83,600 pieces of yaba and arrested a drug trader named Syed Alam Bhutto, said Cox's Bazar Rab camp Company Commander Major Mehedi Hasan.