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.

A passenger travelling to Saudi Arabia was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday for allegedly trying to smuggle out drugs. Some 9,000 pieces of yaba (also known as the madness drug) have been seized from the possession of the accused, identified as Saddam, officials said. Read:Man held with 37 gold bars at Dhaka airport Additional Superintendent of Airport Armed Police Ziaul Haque said Saddam wanted to smuggle out the yaba tablets to Dammam, Saudi Arabia. "Saddam was supposed to take a Salam Air flight to Saudi Arabia. Our sleuths detected the drugs inside his checked-in luggage during routine frisking. A thorough search later helped us seize the drugs," he said. Read:Man held with currencies of 8 countries at Dhaka airport During interrogation, the accused told cops that he had collected 8,950 pieces of yaba from a person in Cumilla and was supposed to deliver the same to a man in Dammam. Earlier too, Saddam was booked under the Narcotics Act, officials said.

A Chittagong court has sentenced a driver and supervisor of Shyamoli Paribahan to 10 years and the helper to five years in prison respectively for transporting yaba in Chittagong. In the same verdict, each of them was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for non-payment of a fine of Tk 5,000.