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A member of the Armed Police Battalion (APBn), identified as Mohammad Ali Munna Shikder, 27, has been arrested by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Ramu, Cox’s Bazar, with 54,000 yaba tablets in his possession.
BGB also seized a motorcycle, two iPhones and Tk 50,990 in cash from him.
Munna was arrested on Sunday (September 6), but the incident was initially kept under wraps because of his affiliation with the APBn. His identity as an APBn member was not even mentioned in the case statement filed with Ramu Police Station. The matter came to light four days later.
At around 3pm on Sunday, BGB personnel stopped and searched a motorcycle they found suspicious on the Arakan Road near the Marichya joint check post in Ramu. Munna Shikder, who was riding the motorcycle, was arrested.
During interrogation, based on information provided by Munna, BGB personnel searched a specially concealed compartment on the motorcycle and recovered 54,000 yaba tablets packed in several packets.
Naik Subedar Mohammad Arifur Rahman of BGB Battalion-30 filed a case with Ramu Police Station in connection with the incident. However, the case statement did not mention that the accused was a member of the APBn.
Case complainant Mohammad Arifur Rahman said he was not certain whether the arrested man was a member of the Armed Police Battalion. He said Munna was taken into custody and handed over to Ramu Police based on the name and identification details found on him at the time of arrest.
Ramu Police Station Officer-in-Charge Fazlul Haque also said the accused had been produced before a court based on the case statement submitted by the BGB. He added that he was not certain whether Munna was an APBn member.
However, Mohammad Kawsar Siddique, Additional Deputy Inspector General and commander of APBn-16, confirmed that Munna is a member of the force.
He said Munna had been on a 21-day leave when he was arrested. During his leave, he was transferred from APBn-16 to Dhaka, but had not yet joined his new workplace.
Additional DIG Kawsar Siddique said Munna became involved in the alleged crime while he was on leave.
The incident has raised questions over why the identity of a serving police member was not mentioned in the case statement despite the recovery of 54,000 yaba tablets from him, and why information about the arrest was not made public until four days later.
