100 held over mugging, drug peddling

Law enforcers arrested at least 100 people over mugging and drug peddling from different areas in the capital during separate drives in the last two days.

Among them, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested 27 people for allegedly being members of a dope-and-snatch gang in the capital.

Separate teams of Rab-3 conducted the raids in the capital's Shahjahanpur, Motijheel, Paltan, Shahbagh and Kamalapur areas on Thursday night and managed to detain the criminals, said Rab-3 commanding officer Lt Col Arif Mohiuddin Ahmed.

Rab seized a sharp weapons, three boxes of ointment, two spray cans and seven phones, among other things, from their possession.

According to Rab, the arrestees used to roam around different bus stands and rail stations in the capital and target passengers whom they would later drug and rob.

After the evening, they used to mug people, threatening them with sharp weapons.

Rab filed five separate cases with five different police stations and handed the arrestees over to police.

Meanwhile, members of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested a total of 73 people on charges of selling and consuming drugs during several anti-drug drives.

DB, along with local police, carried out the drives at different parts of the capital, according to a DMP press release.

During the anti-drug raids, police seized 20,810 yaba tablets, 49 kilos of cannabis, 285 grams and 100 small packets of heroin, and 50 bottles of Phensedyl syrup from their possessions, said the release.

Police filed separate cases against the arrestees with respective police stations under the Narcotics Control Act.