Dhaka district police have arrested two men with 80 yaba tablets during an anti-drug operation in Nawabganj, on the outskirts of the capital. The detainees have been identified as Mohammad Selim, 42, and Mohammad Shanto Islam, 28.
According to police, a team from the southern division of the Dhaka District Detective Branch conducted the operation in the Nawabganj and Dohar police station areas on Wednesday night under the direction of Dhaka District Superintendent of Police Shamima Parveen.
The operation was carried out as part of ongoing efforts to curb the circulation of illegal drugs across the district. At around 10.30pm, detectives stopped and searched the two men in the Komarganj Bazar area of Nawabganj. Police subsequently claimed to have recovered 30 yaba tablets from Selim and another 50 from Shanto Islam, bringing the total seizure to 80 tablets.
Following the arrests, the two men were taken into police custody and questioned about the seized substances. Police said legal proceedings were initiated over the recovery, and a case was filed against the pair under the Narcotics Control Act.
Selim is the son of Mohammad Nasir of Bahra Charkandi village in Nawabganj, while Shanto Islam is the son of Saru Hossain of Ramnathpur village in the same upazila.
Mohammad Rezaul Karim, officer-in-charge of the southern division of the Dhaka District Detective Branch, said the two suspects were taken before a court after a case was lodged with Nawabganj Police Station. The subsequent proceedings will be handled in accordance with the law, he said.
Police officials said anti-drug operations are being conducted regularly in different parts of Dhaka district, with particular attention being given to the transportation, distribution and sale of yaba and other prohibited substances. Areas surrounding roads, markets and other locations considered vulnerable to drug-related activity are being monitored as part of these operations.
Nawabganj and Dohar are among the areas where law enforcement agencies have continued to conduct checks and targeted raids. Police say such operations are intended not only to seize illegal drugs but also to identify those involved in wider supply networks and bring them before the law.
The latest arrests come amid continued law-enforcement efforts to restrict the availability of yaba, a methamphetamine-based tablet that has long been a major concern in Bangladesh’s illegal drug market. Authorities have repeatedly stressed the need for sustained enforcement to prevent the movement of narcotics through local transport routes and marketplaces.
Police have said anti-drug drives in the district will continue. However, the allegations against Selim and Shanto Islam have yet to be established through judicial proceedings. Under the principle of due process, the two men remain accused rather than convicted unless a court ultimately finds them guilty.
