Police have seized 102 sacks of illegal Indian cloth from a warehouse in Wiseghat area of Old Dhaka in the capital, detaining three persons on suspicion of involvement in smuggling.
Acting on information provided by National Security Intelligence (NSI), police from Kotwali Police Station conducted a drive at Samad Plaza in Wiseghat area at around 3:30am on Friday and seized the cloth.
On Friday evening, police filed a case as the plaintiff at Kotwali Police Station regarding the incident.
The detained individuals have been identified as Md Saifur Rahman, 37, Md Sangram Hossain, 30, and Md Babu, 37.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) of the case, police learned from NSI intelligence that illegally imported Indian cloth was stored in a warehouse located underneath Samad Plaza.
A drive was subsequently carried out there, leading to the seizure of the cloth and the detention of the three individuals suspected of smuggling.
The FIR further mentioned that authorities are examining whether the detained individuals were involved in illegally procuring, storing, and selling Indian cloth.
An investigation is also underway to identify the source of the seized cloth and others linked to the smuggling operation. The FIR also mentioned that a case has been filed against the detainees under the Special Powers Act.
Regarding the operation, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kotwali Police Station Md Rabiul Islam said: “Based on intelligence inputs, we conducted this drive and seized a large quantity of cloth that entered illegally from India.”
“At the same time, we managed to arrest three persons red-handed. We are investigating whether anyone else is involved in this smuggling ring,” he added.
