OC Aftab Removed Over Massive Yaba Seizure Scandal

Following a protracted controversy and mounting public scrutiny, Inspector Aftab Uddin, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kotwali Police Station under the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP), has been withdrawn from his post. The decisive administrative action follows conclusive evidence proving his direct involvement in misappropriating a massive shipment of 100,000 Yaba tablets and subsequently releasing the detained suspect, who served as a gunman to a judge at the Cox’s Bazar Court.

The withdrawal was executed on Wednesday (17 June) at approximately 9:00 pm, transferring Inspector Aftab Uddin to the Dampara Police Lines. MD Wahidul Haque Chowdhury, the Additional Commissioner (Traffic, Administration, and Finance) of the CMP, confirmed that an official investigation validated the investigative findings Tell our representative. Consequently, an inquiry report has been submitted to the Police Headquarters, recommending stringent departmental and legal actions under the Narcotics Control Act. This development effectively dismantled Aftab’s extensive multi-million taka campaign to secure impunity using influential connections.

Origin and Details of the Narcotics Misappropriation

According to the official investigation and journalistic probes, the incident transpired on 8 December last year. Constable Imtiaz Hossain, a gunman assigned to a Cox’s Bazar District Court judge, boarded a Dhaka-bound ‘Desh Travels’ bus carrying a luggage filled with 100,000 Yaba tablets sourced from an individual named MD Mosharraf. Imtiaz was promised BDT 80,000 for transporting the contraband.

Once the vehicle crossed the Shah Amanat Bridge over the Karnaphuli River, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Saddam Hossain of Baklia Police Station and an informant boarded the bus and intercepted a sleeping Imtiaz. Despite presenting his official police identification, Imtiaz was escorted to a nearby police box, while the bus driver and supervisor were ordered to leave.

Inside the police box, Inspector (Investigation) Tanveer Ahmed and Sub-Inspector (SI) Al-Amin Sarkar were present. Upon opening the luggage, they discovered ten packets containing 10,000 Yaba tablets each. Instead of processing the arrest, the officers seized the contraband for themselves, returned the empty luggage to Imtiaz, and permitted him to depart. Imtiaz subsequently travelled to his village home in Cumilla by an auto-rickshaw via the Alankar intersection. Inspector Aftab Uddin, who was serving as the OC of Baklia Police Station at the time, directly ordered Imtiaz’s release and initiated a cover-up. Though he denied the claims by asserting he was at home, official findings contradicted his alibi.

The Cover-Up and Influence Peddling

Following the leak of the incident, OC Aftab undertook drastic measures to suppress the facts. On 11 December, a our representative reporter contacted him to provide evidence, but Aftab abruptly blocked the journalist’s number. Reliable sources verified that Aftab convened a secret meeting with the involved officers inside a closed room, forcing them to swear an oath on the Holy Quran never to disclose the incident.

When media reports titled “BDT 22.5 Million Worth of Yaba Vanished after Seizure in Chittagong” emerged on 22 December, a high-level police inquiry committee led by Additional Commissioner MD Wahidul Haque Chowdhury was established. Following further revelations, Constable Imtiaz confessed to the crime, leading to the suspension of 10 personnel. However, Aftab remained unaffected for months due to political maneuvering.

Aftab allegedly attempted to bribe the reporting journalist through a Jamaat-e-Islami leader and a Chhatra Dal leader from Satkania to prevent them from testifying. Furthermore, he sought the assistance of Rocky Baruah, a figure known for his alleged proximity to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to lobby senior police executives, while paying certain journalists to publish favourable stories. Aftab also capitalised on his self-proclaimed familial ties with former CMP Commissioner Hasib Aziz to pressure the probe committee.

“The investigation is ongoing, and if found guilty, OC Aftab will not be spared. His current placement will not affect the outcome, and final actions will be executed upon completion of the inquiry,” stated former CMP Commissioner Hasib Aziz prior to his transfer.

Investigation Findings and Legal Breaches

The six-page investigation report compiled by the metropolitan police explicitly indicted Inspector Aftab Uddin. The report noted that he willfully violated Section 46 of the Narcotics Control Act, 2018, by failing to register a cognizable offense. By releasing a detained suspect with narcotics without a formal case, he directly breached Regulation 244 of the Police Regulations Bengal (PRB) and Section 29 of the Police Act. The probe also revealed that Aftab deliberately failed to secure the CCTV footage of the police box to destroy evidence.

Disciplinary Status of Involved Personnel

A total of 11 police personnel have faced departmental or administrative actions in connection with this narcotics scandal:

Current Status and Official Commitments

Despite the lapse of approximately six months since the incident and the submission of the probe report on 29 April, an official criminal case under the Narcotics Control Act is yet to be filed. The misappropriated 100,000 Yaba tablets have not been recovered, and the prime supplier, MD Mosharraf, remains at large. Abdullah Mohammad Sheikh Sadi, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (West) of the city police, is currently presiding over the ongoing departmental trials against the suspended personnel.

The current CMP Commissioner, Hasan MD Shawkat Ali, reaffirmed that the law makes no distinction between law enforcement personnel and civilian offenders. He stated that the department is awaiting explicit directives from the Police Headquarters following the recommendations submitted, promising swift prosecution under relevant criminal acts. Cox’s Bazar Superintendent of Police, A.N.M. Sajedur Rahman, added that Constable Imtiaz Hossain remains suspended pending further structural instructions from the CMP.