A gunfight between members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and drug peddlers occurred along the Bangladesh-Myanmar frontier in Ukhiya upazila of the district on Tuesday. However, no casualties were reported in this connection. M Gafur Uddin, chairman of Palangkhali union under the upazila, said two Myanmar nationals intruded into Bangladesh territory through the border on Tuesday afternoon. A patrol team of the BGB halted them and interrogated them about their intrusion, he said, adding that a group of terrorists numbering 20 to 30 opened fire on the BGB personnel from the Myanmar side during the interrogation. BGB retaliated with bullets resulting in a gunfight that lasted for around 15 minutes, the chairman claimed. On the other hand, a BGB press release quoting 34-BGB Commandant Colonel Mohammad Saiful Islam Chowdhury said that two groups of criminals traded bullets over drug peddling in Hajjir Bari area of Rahmat Bhil. Upon hearing the gunfight, a patrolling team of the BGB took a strategic position in the area while the criminals opened fire on the BGB personnel sensing their presence, it said. Read more: ‘Drug trader’ injured in ‘gunfight’ with BGB men along Benapole border The BGB members retaliated with the bullets for the sake of lives and properties, the release said, adding that the criminals were forced to step back due to a strict action from the Bangladesh side. The BGB received no casualty or damage in the gunfight while the border forces were kept on a high alert there. Apart from this, surveillance by intelligence was beefed up on the border, it added.

A Cox’s Bazar court has sentenced 101 self-confessed drug peddlers to one and a half years of rigorous imprisonment. It also fined them Tk 20,000 each. Judge Mohammad Ismail of district and sessions judge court pronounced the judgment Wednesday noon. However, the accused were acquitted from another arms case as allegations against them were not proved. Among the convicts, only 17 were present at the courtroom while 84 others tried in absentia, said Md Faridul Alam, Public Prosecutor (PP) of the court. Read: Drug peddler snatched from police custody in Ctg; woman shot dead “In its observation, the court said that the verdict will play an important role in preventing others from joining the illegal trade in the future,” said Faridul. According to the PP, the court in its observation said that a total of 37 yaba dealers died during shootouts with law enforcers in 2019. On February 16, 2019, 3,50,000 yaba pills  and 30 firearms were recovered, which the surrendered drug dealers identified as theirs. A total of 34 witnesses gave testimonies in the arms case, the court said. Some influential people who have been convicted in the drugs case include four brothers of former Member of Parliament (MP) Abdur Rahman Badi -Abdul Amin, Abdur Shukkur, Shafiqul Islam and Foysal Rahman, current chairman of Teknaf Sadar Union Ziaur Rahman Jihad, his elder brother Abdur Rahman and Didar Mia, son of former Teknaf upazila Chairman Jafar Ahmed.   Read: 5 members of drugs gang sentenced for 2014 attack on Rab According to court sources, a total of 102 drug dealers surrendered before law enforcement agencies at Teknaf Pilot High School field on February 16, 2019. Later, two separate cases were filed in this regard by ABMS Doha, then Officer In-charge (OC) of Teknaf Model Police Station.

BGB members on Friday held two drug peddlers with 90,000 pieces of Burmese Yaba worth Tk 2.7 lakh from Naikhyangchhari upazila of Bandarban. The arrestees are Lamangya Tangchangya, 28, and Lataimang Tangchangya, 38, residents of Reju Gorjonbunia of Naikshangchhari. Also read: Drug peddler held with Crystal meth, Yaba pills in Teknaf At around 3 am BGB's Cox's Bazar Battalion conducted an operation at an abandoned house in Chakmapara Kalajing Tila under Naikhyangchhari upazila, said a BGB media release. After arresting the drug peddler duo, the BGB team managed to recover the drug hidden under the ground. Also read:Huge amount of yaba pills seized in Cox's Bazar The arrestees were handed over to Naikhyangchhari Police under a drug case, the release also said.

Four people, including two police officers, were stabbed allegedly by drug peddlers in Lalmonirhat's Kaliganj upazila on Thursday night. The injured have been identified as assistant sub-inspectors Shahjahani Ali and Momtaz Uddin of Kaliganj police station, and two local residents -- Mojmul Islam, 32, and Abdul Khalek. Golam Rasul, officer-in-charge of Kaliganj police station, said a police team stopped a private car during a routine checking drive on Kakina-Mahipur bypass road near Sirajul Market around 9.30pm. Also read: Housewife stabbed dead in Ctg "As they tried to carry out a search, its driver and his assistant stabbed them. The two locals also sustained stab wounds when they tried to intervene," said OC Golam. “The attackers, however, managed to flee. We later found 180 bottles of phensedyl and a knife inside the car,” he said. A case has been filed under the Narcotics Control Act, 1990, and the injured are currently being treated at Kaliganj Upazila Health Complex, the OC added. Also read: Man stabbed dead in Chattogram

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday detained drug peddlers with 50,755 yaba pills worth Tk 1.50 crore from Ukhiya of Cox's Bazar. The detainees were identified as Md Shahjahan, 41, Md Ekramul Hossain, 25, Md Dabir Ahmed, 28 and Md Yeasin, 21. Also read: Rohingya teens arrested from airport area with over 6000 pcs Yaba According to a media release of BGB, a patrol team of BGB-34, tipped off, detained Shahjahan and Ekramul conducting a drive at Pangkhali UP in Ukhiya in the morning. During the drive, BGB men seized 50,000 yaba pills worth Tk 1.50 crore from their possession, said the release. Also read: Coast Guard seizes 105,000 pcs of Yaba during raid around St Martin In another drive at Rejukhal post, the BGB men nabbed the other two drug peddlers with 755 yaba pills in a battery-run auto rickshaw. Legal processes are underway against the detainees, the release added.

Members of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested two alleged drug peddlers in Narayanganj in the early hours of Wednesday. The arrestees have been identified as Md Kabir Hossain, 23, son of Abdur Rahim of Subarnachar area of Cumilla, and Shri Rajen Debnath, 22, son of Shri Dulu Nath of the same area. Read: Drug accused ‘dies in police custody’ in city Some 32kg of banned substance hemp -- fiber of the cannabis plant -- have been seized from the possession of the two, officials said. Lt Commander Mahmudul Hasan, Deputy Director and Media Officer of RAB-11, said the unit conducted a drive in the Chittagong Road area of Narayanganj, acting on a tip-off, and arrested the duo. RAB sources said that the two accused used to acquire hemp from the border areas of Cumilla and supply the same to Dhaka, Narayanganj and surrounding areas. They used to travel by ordinary buses. Read: Cumilla Victoria College campus turns into den of drug dealing, sex workers amid closure due to pandemic A case has been filed against the two accused under the Narcotics Act at the Siddhirganj police station, the sources added.

An Assistant Sub-Inspector of police was killed on Friday being hit by a microbus carrying drugs  in Chandgaon area of Chattogram. The deceased was identified as Kazi Mohammad Salauddin, 38, a resident of South Jaypur area in Lakshmipur sadar upazila. Read:42 tonnes of poppy seeds seized at Chattogram port Md. Masum, 26, another police member , injured in the accident is being treated at Chattogram Medical College Hospital. Officer-in-Charge of Chandgaon police station Mostafzur Rahman said the microbus hit a police team  as they tried to stop the vehicle tipped off it was carrying drugs. Read: Man killed over land dispute in Chattogram Salauddin died on the spot while Masum sustained injuries, said police. Later, police seized the microbus with 730 liters of liquor but the drug peddlers managed to flee.    

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested five alleged drug peddlers and recovered 6,250 pieces yaba pills and 20 kgs hemp from the city’s Jatrabari area in two separate raids on Saturday. The arrestees were identified as-- Md. Nurul Alam (52), Md. Jasim Uddin Ahmed (35), Md. Helal (27), b. Md. Shah Jalal (22), c. Md. Rajiv Talukder (29).  Based on secret information, a team of Rab-2 battalion started surveillance and set up a check post at Dakshin Kajla of North Duniya Biswa Road in jatrabari at around 6:30 am as the elite force came to know that a group of drug dealers was coming to Jatrabari area from the border area via Chittagong. Also read: 51 arrested in DMP anti-drug operations When Md. Nurul Alam and Md. Jasim Uddin Ahmed were about to passing the check-post, the elite force members challenged them and found 6,250 pieces Yaba pills searching their bodies at around 7:20 am.

Police in separate drives recovered bodies with gunshot wounds from Cox’s Bazar district town and Teknaf upazila on Tuesday.

Police arrested two suspected drug peddlers along with 10,000 Yaba pills from sadar upazila on Thursday.