The Detective Branch (DB) of police arrested six drug peddlers and confiscated six pounds of cocaine from Nikunju of Gulshan area in the city on Thursday. The drug peddlers are Md Kamrul Alam (40), a director of Madina Pharmaceuticals, Spanish expatriate Taher Mondol alias Zoba (30), pharmacy owner Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan (46), stock market trader Kazi Khalilullah Mahmud (40), recruitment agency owner Mamun Hawlader (34) and herbal businessman Mosharraf Hossain Rana (44). Members of the Detective Branch (North Division) seized the cocaine from Seema Pharmacy at Zaman Market in Nikunja while it was being sold. Dhaka Metroploitan Police (DMP) joint commissioner Monirul Islam said the six drug dealers were caught red-handed with the cocaine, which is worth nearly Tk. 5 crore. “Madina Pharmaceuticals director Kamrul Alam and expatriate Taher Mondol Zoba had smuggled the cocaine into Bangladesh through the Hajarat Shahjalal International Airport under the guise of imported raw materials for pharmaceutical products,” he added.
He said the smuggled cocaine was being handed over to Mosharraf Hossain, who was going to keep it at his business establishment for sale, while Khalilullah, Mamun and Mosharraf were arrested for selling it to the drug runners. The police produced the detainees before a court and sought remand for interrogation.
Detective Branch officials claimed that a number of pharmaceutical owners and officials has been smuggling cocaine for a long time. Several gangs of smugglers, drug runners and foreigners are also linked to the illegal business, they added.
Courtesy of The Independent
