Six ‘human carriers’ of yaba pills arrested
In two special drives, Detective Branch (DB) of police yesterday claimed to have arrested six people engaged in smuggling yaba pills for years.
The arrestees were identified as Md Chan Miah (45), Md Alam (55), Md Liakat Ali (56), Md Khokon Sheikh (36), Md Selim Molla (32), and Md Selim Mahmud (22).
A team of DB (north) first arrested Chan, Alam and Liakat from Khilgaon and Sadarghat areas on Tuesday night, Golam Saklain, additional deputy commissioner of DB police, told The Daily Star yesterday.
A case was filed against the three with Khilgaon Police Station.
In another drive, the three others were arrested from the capital's Paltan, he said, adding that a separate case was filed against them with Paltan Police Station.
The DB team recovered around 9,500 yaba pills from their possession, which they brought in the capital inside their stomachs, said the additional commissioner.
Police also seized a motorbike reportedly used to transport the pills.
The carrier would first wrap around 40 to 50 pills in sticky tape, and insert those inside the bananas they would then eat, before starting off for Dhaka from the coastal district, said ADC Saklain, adding that once they reached Dhaka, they brought those out from their stomachs and handed those over to yaba traders.
For each yaba pill, they were paid Tk 10, he said.
With an aim to dodge law enforcers, Khokon, Selim and Mahmud first went to Chandpur from Cox's Bazar and then took a launch to reach Dhaka, said the official.
The second group, however, used to take the usual route and reached in Dhaka by bus, he said.
ADC Saklain said they primarily came to know that these traders bought each pill for Tk 80 to Tk 85 from Cox's Bazar, and sold it for Tk 100 to Tk 110 in Dhaka.
"We would interrogate the arrestees after taking them on remand to get details of other gang members," he added.
Yaba smugglers in recent months have been found carrying the pills inside watermelons, jackfruit, car tires, petrol containers, mobile phones and books.
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