The drone was confiscated from a local tourist in the East division of Sundarbans under Sharankhola Upazila of Bagerhat district on Saturday morning.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Sundarbans East Division Muhammad Belayet Hossain said a tourist-launch named MV Tanguar Haor entered the Sundarbans through Sharankhola on Saturday morning with permission to stay for two days from the Forest Department. After reaching the Supati area, a tourist flew the drone and started filming. At that time, the security personnel of the Forest Department seized the drone.
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The drone is now at the office at Katka Sanctuary in the Sundarbans.
DFO Muhammad Belayet Hossain added that there were 50 tourists at the launch. They came to visit the Sundarbans through a tour operator. The man who flew the drone is a private bank official.
It is anomalous to fly drones without permission of the Ministry of Environment and Forest. The incident is considered as civil disobedience and a case has been filed under the Forest Act in this regard, DFO added
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Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) of the Sharankhola Range of the Eastern Sundarbans Joynal Abedin said that the tourist had admitted his mistake and lodged an appeal. He will be released after he pays a penalty.
The drone will be forfeited to the Forest Department.
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Prior to today, the forest department seized two drones from foreign nationals while filming in the Sundarbans back in 2016 and 2017.