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The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) has arrested an Indian national at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka after recovering 4.28 kilograms of suspected kush concealed beneath Indian sarees in his luggage.
The man, identified as Abhijit Das, 40, a resident of North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal, was detained at the airport’s Green Channel in the arrival hall on Wednesday afternoon.
DNC officials searched his trolley and recovered the suspected drugs hidden beneath clothing, according to the agency. Authorities also seized an Indian passport, 2,160 Indian rupees, 70 Thai baht, a smartphone, a boarding pass and three Indian sarees from his possession.
Md Raziur Rahman, deputy director of the DNC’s Dhaka Metro (North) office, said a special team was deployed at the Green Channel around 1pm based on intelligence. The operation was led by Dr Md Abu Sayeed Mia, assistant director of the DNC’s airport office.
Das, who arrived from Bangkok on Thai Airways flight TG 321, was detained on suspicion of carrying narcotics. His luggage was subsequently searched in the presence of witnesses and representatives of different agencies working at the airport.
During preliminary questioning, Das reportedly identified himself as a porter at Bangaon Railway Station in India.
According to Raziur Rahman, Das claimed that an international drug trafficking network operating across three countries recruits low-income individuals in India, takes them from Kolkata to Bangkok and then uses them to smuggle narcotics into Bangladesh concealed among Indian sarees and other goods.
Preliminary questioning also indicated that the alleged network was attempting to establish a market for kush in Bangladesh, the DNC official said. Das was reportedly expected to stay in Bangladesh for two to three days, hand over part of the consignment and return to India through the Benapole land port.
However, investigators will need to verify his statements and establish whether he was involved in the alleged trafficking network.
A case has been filed against Das at Airport Police Station under relevant provisions of the Narcotics Control Act, 2018, as amended in 2026. DNC Inspector Shaharia Sharmin, of the airport circle under the Dhaka Metro (North) office, filed the case.
The agency said legal procedures were underway to produce the accused before a court.
Kush is a term used for certain cannabis varieties, but the name is also used for illicit synthetic drug mixtures in some markets.
The precise composition of the seized substance has not been confirmed in the information provided by authorities. Laboratory analysis will be needed to establish its contents and potential health risks.