Foreign currency to ‘protect’ yaba!
Police arrested four persons with 40,000 yaba pills and 1,200 British pounds on Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar Highway early yesterday.
The arrestees are Mojammel Haque (30), Nur Nabi (24), Hasmat Kabir Shakil (21) and Jahedul Islam Ratul (22).
Police also seized two motorbikes during the arrest at Patiya upazila. The yaba tablets are worth Tk 1.20 crore, said police.
SM Rashidul Haque, superintendent of Chattogram district police, in a press briefing said, “Carrying such foreign currency by dealers or peddlers is unusual.”
He said, “The arrestees told police that they were carrying the pounds [around Tk 1.30 lakh] in a bid to save the consignment of contraband items… they thought if they get caught or intercepted by law enforcers or some other groups during their delivery, they would use the money as bribe.”
Md Jahangir, additional superintendent of police (Sadar) who led the drive, said tipped off, they set up a check post at Mujaffarabad point of the highway under Kharana union.
“We had information that three bikes were heading to Chattogram. With an aim to dodge police, they joined a group of NGO employees who were coming to port city from Cox’s Bazar on bikes. When law enforcers stopped the motorbikes, three of them tried to flee,” he said.
Jahangir said police were able to stop two bikes and arrest the four while another carrying three managed to escape. “Searching their bags, police seized the pills and the money,” he added.
“The group has strong links in Cox’s Bazar and Dhaka. They collected the pills from Teknaf,” said the police official, adding that the consignment was supposed to be handed over to another group in Feni to take those to the capital.
SP Rashidul said police were investigating the source of the seized pounds.
A case was lodged in this connection with Patiya police station.
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