DHAKA — Officers from the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) have dismantled a narcotics syndicate operating within the Korail slum, arresting three individuals who allegedly used a pigeon-breeding business and a local cooperative association to mask their illegal trade.
The suspects have been identified as 38-year-old Md Rana, 40-year-old Nurunnahar—the wife of the alleged kingpin known locally as ‘Kabutar Momin’—and 28-year-old Md Ashradul Islam. During the coordinated operation, officers seized 610 grams of heroin, 253 Yaba tablets, foreign liquor, cannabis, and over 4.3 million BDT in cash generated from drug sales. The principal suspect, Kabutar Momin, managed to evade capture during the raid and remains at large.
DNC Deputy Director Md Rajiur Rahman revealed that five specialised teams from the Dhaka Metro (North) office conducted targeted raids across multiple sites in Korail. The strike followed weeks of covert surveillance on Momin, a listed suspect on narcotics enforcement databases. Intelligence gathered prior to the raid indicated that substantial volumes of illicit substances were stored inside his residential quarters.
Search operations were executed simultaneously across Momin’s residence, his pigeon shop, a cooperative society office under his management, and a mobile financial services outlet under his control. Initial interrogations revealed that the group had maintained its distribution network behind the facade of breeding birds and running community micro-savings schemes. Proceeds from illicit transactions were routinely processed through mobile financial service accounts to obscure the money trail.
Beyond the primary arrests, law enforcement personnel detained four individuals caught consuming narcotics on the premises. They were brought before an executive magistrate presiding over a mobile court attached to the operation and received varying custodial sentences following summary proceedings.
Covering nearly 90 acres adjacent to the upscale districts of Gulshan and Banani, Korail is one of the largest informal settlements in the capital, housing tens of thousands of low-income workers and families. Its dense urban geography, characterized by narrow alleys and multiple exit points, has long made regular policing difficult. Organized groups frequently exploit these conditions, hiding illicit activities within everyday neighbourhood commerce such as tea stalls, poultry shops, or local financial exchanges. DNC authorities confirmed that intelligence operations remain active in the area to locate the absconding ringleader and trace the broader financial channels connected to the syndicate.
