Joint drive led by Coast Guard : Huge smuggled foreign cigarettes seized in Cox's Bazar
Cox’s Bazar Correspondent
The Bangladesh Coast Guard, in a joint operation with Ukhia Police, seized a huge consignment of foreign cigarettes smuggled from Myanmar, valued at approximately Tk 23.85 lakh, along with a CNG auto-rickshaw in Cox's Bazar on Sunday.
The information was disclosed on Sunday afternoon by Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujan.
Acting on a secret tip-off, a joint team from Coast Guard Station Teknaf and Ukhia Police Station conducted a special drive around 6:00 AM on Sunday in an area adjacent to the border road in Palongkhali under Ukhia Upazila. During the operation, officers signaled a suspicious CNG auto-rickshaw to stop. Sensing the presence of law enforcement, the smugglers abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene, leaving no arrests.
A subsequent search of the abandoned vehicle led to the recovery of 1,19,000 sticks of Oris brand and 40,000 sticks of Patron brand foreign cigarettes illegally brought from Myanmar to evade customs duties. The CNG auto-rickshaw used for transportation was also seized.
Legal proceedings regarding the seized goods and vehicle have been taken.
