RAB-9 arrested two men it described as drug traders in a raid on a covered van at Kalikapur village, Madhabpur Upazila, Habiganj, in the early hours of Thursday.[1][2] The covered van was on the Dhaka–Sylhet highway, beside the main gate of Kansai Nerolac Paints (Bangladesh) Limited.[1][3][2] The operation followed confidential information and was conducted by an operational team from RAB-9’s CPC-3 at its Shayestaganj camp.[1]

One of the arrested men was Fazle Rabbi, 25, identified as the son of Jahidul Islam.[1] He was from Rajapur village in Bogura Sadar Upazila.[1] The second man, Nur Uddin, 35, was identified as the son of the late Bashir Uddin.[1] He was from the home of Haji Bashir Ahmed in the Subarnachar police-station area of Noakhali.[1]

RAB-9 said officers recovered the cannabis after the two men made their confessions to the team.[1][2] The seized cannabis weighed 30 kilograms and was wrapped in blue polythene.[1]

A formal case was filed against the two arrested men under the Narcotics Control Act, and they and the seized evidence were then handed over to Madhabpur police station.[3][2] RAB-9 also seized the covered van the men used to transport the drugs.[3] RAB-9 additional superintendent of police and media officer K.M. Shahidul Islam Sohag said the force’s operations against drugs would continue under a zero-tolerance policy.[3]

The two men tried to flee on seeing the law-enforcement team before officers detained them.[2] In initial questioning the men said they had collected the cannabis from a border area of Habiganj and were carrying it in the cover van to sell in different parts of the country.[2]