RAB seizes cocaine worth Tk60 crore
Six members of a drug smuggling ring have been held.
Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has busted a gang of drug dealers who possessed 2 kilogram of cocaine worth around Tk60 crore in the capital.
"The operation was conducted at two places based on intelligence information. Six members of a drug smuggling ring have been held with 2kg cocaine during the operation," said Major Shahriar Ziaur Rahman, second-in-command of RAB-10.
The arrestees were identified as Sultan Hasan, 50, Uday Das, 52, from Sherpur, Hannan, 35, and Uzzal 28, from of Cumilla, Palash Dey, 58, from Netrokona and Firoz Alam Khan, 50, from Barguna districts.
During primary interrogation, they admitted that they were professional drug dealers and had been dealing drugs in Dhaka and surrounding areas for a long time.
Three of them were arrested from Jatrabari's Konapara area on Tuesday afternoon with 1kg cocaine. Based on their information, the other three were arrested from a hotel in Gulistan with another 1kg of cocaine. Nine used mobile phones were also seized during the drives.
"They are thought to be involved in an international cocaine smuggling ring," said RAB-10 Commander Mahfuzur Rahman.
"The seized drug is in crystal form of cocaine, which normally comes in a powder form," he added.
In February this year the RAB destroyed 370 litres of liquid cocaine at the Chattogram Port. It came from Bolivia in the guise of sunflower oil consignment in 2015. The RAB claimed that the price of that drug consignment was Tk9,000 crore.
Law enforcement officials claimed that there is little consumption of cocaine in the country but Bangladesh is being used as a transit route of smuggling.
Several international drug cartels use Bangladesh as a safe route for the smuggling of cocaine to Europe and Southeast Asia taking advantage of lack of modern drug detection facilities.