Coast Guard Detains 10 Smugglers with Large Quantity of Fertilizer in Teknaf Operation

Daily Bijoy News Teknaf (Cox's Bazar) Correspondent:

Coast Guard personnel have arrested 10 smugglers along with a large quantity of urea fertilizer while they were being illegally trafficked to Myanmar. The Coast Guard detained the 10 smugglers with a significant amount of urea fertilizer while they were attempting to illegally transport the goods to Myanmar via the sea route near Saint Martin's Island in the Bay of Bengal.

On May 1, the Coast Guard ship Tajuddin spotted an engine-powered wooden boat moving suspiciously near Chera Dwip, south of Saint Martin. Observing the boat's movements, the Coast Guard launched an operation. Meanwhile, as a 58-day government-imposed ban on fishing is currently in effect in the Bay of Bengal, the presence of the boat in the area was illegal. When the Coast Guard ship Tajuddin signaled the boat to stop, it ignored the order and attempted to flee at high speed.

Later, the ship intercepted the boat and conducted a search, leading to the arrest of 10 smugglers along with 600 sacks of urea fertilizer that were being illegally smuggled to Myanmar's Rakhine State, evading customs duties. The arrested smugglers are residents of Cox's Bazar and Chattogram. The seized fertilizer was handed over to Teknaf Customs, while the detained smugglers and the boat used in the smuggling operation were transferred to Teknaf Model Police Station. The Coast Guard stated that legal proceedings are ongoing in this regard.

Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Commander HM Harun-Or-Rashid confirmed the authenticity of the news and stated that such operations will continue in the future.

Daily Bijoy News / Shamsul Alam Sharek