Ukhiya, Aug. 13 (V7N) — Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has recovered 16,000 yaba tablets from a specially concealed compartment inside a private car in Ukhiya, Cox’s Bazar, and arrested the vehicle’s driver.
The raid was conducted at around 3:40pm on Wednesday at the Shilkhali checkpost, according to a press release issued by Ukhiya Battalion (64 BGB).
The arrested driver was identified as Mohammad Ismail, 33, son of Nurul Bashar of Chhota Habirpara village in Teknaf upazila.
According to BGB, the private car was travelling from Teknaf towards Cox’s Bazar when it was stopped and searched at the Shilkhali checkpost. A trained narcotics detection dog named Henry was also deployed during the search.
At one stage, the dog indicated the possible presence of drugs inside the vehicle’s cylinder. A subsequent search led to the discovery of eight specially concealed mini packets inside the cylinder, containing a total of 16,000 yaba tablets, BGB said.
The private car allegedly used to transport the drugs and a mobile phone were also seized during the operation.
BGB said that during preliminary questioning, Ismail reportedly told officials that he had collected the yaba tablets in Teknaf and was transporting them to Cox’s Bazar for sale at a higher price.
Lieutenant Colonel Zahirul Islam, commanding officer of Ukhiya Battalion, said intelligence surveillance had been strengthened to identify and bring drug suppliers and smugglers to justice.
He said BGB operations against drug trafficking and smuggling would continue alongside efforts to strengthen border security.
Legal proceedings against the arrested man are underway, according to BGB.
END/MSI/SMA/
