Twelve individuals with a large quantity of Bangladeshi food items were apprehended by the Coast Guard while attempting to smuggle the food items into Myanmar.
Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq provided this information on Wednesday afternoon.
He stated that, based on a tip, a special operation was conducted by Coast Guard Station Hatiya in the Meghna river near Chairman Ghat under Hatiya Police Station of Noakhali, from 4pm on Tuesday to 2am on Wednesday.
During the operation, a suspicious fishing boat in the area was searched, leading to the apprehension of 12 smugglers along with approximately 247 sacks of turmeric, 233 sacks of masoor dal (red lentils), and 32 sacks of peanuts, valued at about Tk31.34 lakh, which were being smuggled to Myanmar by evading customs duties.
The process for subsequent legal action regarding the seized boat, evidence, and the apprehended smugglers is underway.
He further added that the Coast Guard will continue such operations in the future to prevent smuggling.
