13 lakh yaba pills haul in Ctg: PBI arrests “absconding” UP member after 5 yrs

Five years later, members of Police Investigation Bureau (PBI) today (August 21, 2022) arrested a Union Parishad (UP) member of Anwara upazila in Chattogram, who was reportedly absconding in police book, in a case filed in connection with the recovery of 13 lakh yaba in a flat in the port city’s Halishahar area in 2018.

“The arrestee is Anwar Hossain, 55, hailing from Anwara upazila. He is the UP member of Ward number 6 of Barumchara Union Parishad,” PBI’s Chattogram metro unit Additional Superintendent of Police (Addl SP) Junayet Kawsar told our Chattogram staff correspondent.

“He was arrested from city’s Laldighi area following secret information,” added the Addl SP.

“He is a charge-sheeted accused in the much talked 13 lakh yaba haul case but despite having an arrest warrant, he managed to hide for five years and was elected as UP member,” said Junayet Kawsar.

According to the case, Detectives of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) in a drive arrested two siblings, including a local godfather of yaba, in possession with 13 lakh yaba pills worth Tk 45 crore from an apartment in Chittagong city’s Halishahar area on May 3, 2018.

Later police filed a case accusing two siblings and two Rohingya yaba dealers making the headlines of the media.

After investigation, DB police pressed a charge sheet before the court against 12 persons, including UP member Anwar, and dropping names of four persons including two Rohingya as their details were failed to avail on December 12, 2018.

Later a court sent the case for further investigation to Criminal Investigation Department (CID). CID also pressed charges against 12 and names of five persons including two Rohingyas were dropped as their details failed to be unearthed on October 27, 2021.

In the charge sheets, both the DB and CID officials have shown UP member Anwar as fugitive.

As the court was not satisfied with the investigation, the court later sent it to PBI further for probing.