Mohammad Khorshed Helali, Cox’s Bazar:
The Coast Guard arrested 10 smugglers with 600 sacks of urea fertilizer from a trawler while attempting to smuggle the goods illegally to Myanmar via the sea in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar. Lieutenant Commander H.M.M. Harun-ur-Rashid, Media Officer of the Coast Guard’s Eastern Zone, shared the information with journalists on Friday (May 2).
The 10 arrested smugglers are residents of various areas in Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, and Noakhali districts.
Commander Harun-ur-Rashid stated that as a 58-day fishing ban in the sea is currently in effect, the presence of any trawler in the area is illegal. However, at midnight on Thursday (May 1), members of the Coast Guard ship Tajuddin spotted a suspicious wooden fishing trawler in the deep sea near the Saint Martin’s coast in Teknaf. Despite being instructed to stop, the trawler attempted to flee at high speed. The Coast Guard pursued and eventually detained the trawler.
During a search of the trawler, 600 sacks of urea fertilizer, being smuggled to Rakhine State in Myanmar to evade customs duty, were discovered. Subsequently, the 10 individuals on the trawler were arrested.
The media officer added that the recovered fertilizer has been deposited at the Teknaf Customs Office. A case has been filed at Teknaf Police Station against the detainees under relevant laws.
