The Coast Guard has detained 13 people along with 430 sacks of urea fertiliser and 600 sacks of potatoes, worth about Tk 16 lakh, while illegally smuggling those to the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Commander Harun-or-Rashid confirmed the information on Thursday.
He said that acting on a tip-off, a special operation was conducted by the Coast Guard Base Chittagong at 5pm on Wednesday at the Patenga outer anchorage in Chittagong.
During the raid, the team searched two suspicious engine-powered wooden boats in the area and arrested 13 people along with 430 sacks of urea fertiliser, 600 sacks of potatoes, 40 litres of lube oil and 2 Hamko batteries, worth about Tk. 16.34 lakh, while illegally smuggling those to the Rakhine State of Myanmar by evading customs and taxes.
The procedure of handing over the seized goods, the arrestees and the boat used for smuggling to the Sadar Ghat Naval Police is currently underway.
He further said that Bangladesh Coast Guard has been patrolling 24 hours to maintain the law and order situation in the country.
As a result, the overall law and order situation in coastal and riverine areas under Coast Guard jurisdiction has significantly improved. Anti-smuggling operations like this will continue in the future, he added.