A mobile court arrested five suspected members of a Hilsa smuggling gang with five maunds of mother Hilsa from the Padma River in Zajira upazila of Shariatpur Saturday.
The arrestees are Rubel Hossain, 28, Rahman Khan, 32, Khabir, 25, Dabir Hossain, 48 and Rabin, 20.
Zajira Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) and Executive Magistrate Kamrul Hasan Sohail said on suspicion they conducted a search at a passenger-carrying trawler heading towards Bilaspur from Kunderchar.
Later, five maunds of Hilsa were seized from the trawler during the drive, he said adding that five people including trawler driver Rahman Khan were arrested in this connection.
The court led by UNO sentenced the trawler driver to one month of jail and four others to 13-day each respectively.
The seized fishes were distributed among orphanages and Madrasahs, he added.