Rab submits second charge sheet implicating 10 over cocaine smuggling case
After three years of pressing the first charge sheet, members of the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-7) on Monday pressed its second charge sheet against 10 people including Nur Mohammed, Chairman of Khan Jahan Ali Group, and his brother Mostaq Ahmed, under the Special Powers Act in a much-talked-about cocaine haul case filed with Bandar Police Station on June 28, 2015.
Earlier, Rab-7 had submitted its first charge sheet accusing 10 people including Nur Mohammed in the same case under the Narcotics Control Act on April 02, 2017.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammed Mohiuddin Faruqe submitted the second charge sheet to Chattogram court, court sources said.
SP Mohammed Mohiuddin Faruqe told The Daily Star, "Investigating the case, we found the involvement of Nur Mohammed, his brother and eight others with cocaine smuggling from abroad in guise of sunflower oil. Apart from that, we found that two Bangladeshi-born United Kindom (UK) citizens -- Md Moktar Hossen (48) and Md Mofizur Rahman Sumon (37) -- were also involved with the cocaine smuggling."
"The United Kingdom Central Authority, Judicial Co-operation Unit London, SW 1P 4DF, UK has been investigating the role of two UK citizens in the case, and new findings will be included through the supplementary charge sheet after the investigation," added Mohiuddin.
The eight other accused are -- Golam Mostafa Sohel (39), Mostafa Kamal (42), Mehedi Alam (31), Md Atiqur Rahman (29), AKM Azad (44), Saiful Islam (32), Fazlur Rahman (35), and Md Bakul Mia (31).
Earlier, on February 5 this year, Rab destroyed 370 liters of liquid cocaine worth of TK 9,000 crore, shipped into the country in guise of a consignment of sunflower oil in the port city's Patenga. Rab-7 Headquarters in presence of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal took the action following a court order.
On June 6, 2015, Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (CIID) sealed a container carrying 2,140 kilogrammes of liquid cocaine in 107 drums that arrived in Chittagong Port via Singapore on May 13, 2015, from Montevideo, Uruguay, after being imported from Bolivia.
The container was imported by Khan Jahan Ali Limited, said investigators.
On June 27, 2015, following a laboratory test in Dhaka, existence of cocaine was found in two drums out of 107.
The following day, a Sub-Inspector (SI) of Bandar Police Station filed the case against the accused under the Narcotics Act and detectives of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) started their investigation. However, a Chittagong court on July 14, 2015 ordered investigators to attach sections of the Special Powers Act with the case over the issue of smuggling.
Detective Branch (DB)'s Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Md Kamruzzaman first investigated the case and had submitted a charge-sheet under the Narcotics Control Act on November 11, 2015. The ADC had submitted a second charge sheet under the Special Powers Act on May 11, 2017.
However, a court had ordered Rab-7 to investigate further, rejecting the two initial charge sheets.
Nur Mohammad, chairman of Khan Jahan Ali Group, was arrested on January 15, 2016.
Nur secured ad-interim bail from the High Court, which was later stayed by the Supreme Court on June 20, 2016, following a government petition against the HC order.
Comments