Ministry Sticker Car Seized with 6,000 Yaba Tablets

In a sophisticated attempt to bypass law enforcement checkpoints, a smuggling ring using a private car carrying a fake Ministry of Home Affairs sticker was intercepted in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar. Anti-narcotics officers seized 6,000 Yaba tablets hidden inside the vehicle’s dashboard and arrested three suspected drug traffickers, including two women.

The operation was carried out at around 10:00 am on Wednesday, 15 July, along the Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar Highway. Acting on a precise tip-off, a team from the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) set up a strategic surveillance point in the Rubber Garden area of Joarinnala union in Ramu upazila to monitor vehicles heading towards Chittagong from the coastal town of Cox’s Bazar.

Somen Mondal, the Deputy Director of the DNC’s Cox’s Bazar district office, stated that the agency had received reliable intelligence about an organised syndicate transporting a significant shipment of contraband to Dhaka in a private car. During the surveillance, officers spotted a silver sedan displaying an official-looking Ministry of Home Affairs sticker on its windscreen. When ordered to pull over, the driver ignored the signal and sped up in an attempt to escape. Following a brief chase, DNC officers managed to intercept the vehicle.

During initial questioning, the three occupants tried to intimidate the officers by claiming close personal ties with high-ranking ministry officials. However, immediate verification proved their claims to be entirely fabricated. A thorough search of the vehicle followed, leading to the discovery of 6,000 Yaba pills concealed inside a specially modified compartment behind the dashboard.

The suspects have been identified as:

• Sabbir Hossain (36): Son of Abdul Gafur from Shalukia in Chauddagram, Comilla.

• Seema Islam (22): Daughter of the late Shahidul Islam Sabuj from West Nau in Rupganj, Narayanganj.

• Urmi Akhter Usha (18): Wife of Shakil Mridha from South Bishil in Darussalam, Dhaka.

The DNC has seized both the narcotics and the private vehicle. A formal case has been registered under the Narcotics Control Act at the local Ramu Police Station. Authorities are investigating the origin of the ministry sticker to identify the wider network behind the operation.