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The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) has seized 177 litres of foreign liquor and 67 litres of beer during a raid on an entertainment venue in Dhaka’s upscale Gulshan area.
The venue’s manager, Ataur Rahman Shamim, was arrested.
The raid was conducted on Thursday night at a building at 24 Road 104 in Gulshan-2. The establishment is registered as Seventy Eight Resthouse Society and is widely known as the ‘German Club’.
DNC Assistant Director Mehedi Hasan said the venue had been storing and selling foreign liquor wholesale and retail without a bar licence. The raid team seized 223 bottles of foreign liquor containing 177 litres and 209 bottles and cans of beer totalling 67 litres.
Shamim, 42, was present at the venue during the operation. According to the DNC, he failed to produce documents proving the legality of the seized liquor and beer.
The department said the establishment organised DJ parties through ticket sales and allegedly supplied foreign liquor, beer and other drugs illegally to attendees.
The DNC also identified Omar Jamil, 45, as another person allegedly linked to the establishment. He was absent during the raid and has been named as a fugitive accused in the case.
A case has been filed with Gulshan Police Station under the Narcotics Control Act against Shamim, Jamil and unidentified individuals.
Shah Mostafa Tarikuzzaman, assistant police commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Gulshan Zone, confirmed to bdnews24.com that a case had been filed by the DNC following its operation.
The seized substances and samples for chemical testing remain in DNC custody. The department said investigations were underway to arrest the fugitive suspect and establish the full extent of the establishment’s activities.
The raid was led by Zahid Hossain Mollah, additional director of the DNC’s Dhaka divisional office. Officials from the department’s headquarters, divisional intelligence office and Dhaka Metro North and South offices took part in the operation.