Rangamati, June 28 (V7N) - In a joint operation, Bangladesh Army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) arrested a large consignment of smuggled foreign cigarettes worth approximately Tk 2.5 million in Rangamati’s hill tracts on Friday evening. The contraband was seized near Kaptai Lake, sourced via a route from the India-Bangladesh border.
 
Rangamati BGB sector officials confirmed the seizure of 25 cartons of foreign-brand cigarettes—primarily Omega and Petton—smuggled across the Juraichhari border by women smugglers and collected by a trafficker named Manbendra Chakma. These cartons were being transported in motor-powered boats to Rangamati when they were intercepted near Kaindar Mukh, opposite Kaptai Lake. Miscreants impersonating political party members attempted to hijack the boat before security forces launched their operation.
 
Following intelligence collection, a joint security team ambushed the cigarette-laden boat. Although the smugglers fled the scene, the authorities recovered the contraband. The confiscated items will be handed over to Chittagong Customs for legal proceedings.
 
Rangamati BGB officials estimate the seized cigarettes to be worth Tk 2.5 million. They warn that deeply entrenched smuggling networks operate from remote India-bordering union areas—including Juraichhari, Barkal, and Baghai Chhari—transporting contraband not only across Rangamati but also onward to Chittagong and beyond. Inhabitants of Rangamati town openly sell various duty-free foreign cigarette brands in local markets.
 
Insider sources report that regional armed groups tied to at least three local political factions coordinate smuggling via river routes and land, distributing cigarettes and other contraband to wholesalers in Rangamati town. These items are then transported by an assortment of vehicles—including trucks, ambulances, courier vans, fish-carton pickups, microbuses, motorcycles, and hidden compartments in passenger buses—towards Hathazari and Chittagong markets.
 
According to locals, several individuals have amassed rapid wealth through this illicit trade. In one case, a former biscuit agent from Rangamati’s Reserve Market reportedly became a multi-millionaire in under a year after entering the cigarette smuggling business. Names mentioned include Abul Kalam, Jahangir, Mohiuddin, Helal, Kamrul, and Rashed from Satkania’s Rauzan, as well as other traffickers working across Rangamati, Khagrachhari, Feni, and Comilla.
 
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