A serving Assistant Sub-Inspector of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has been arrested alongside an alleged associate after being caught in possession of 5,310 contraband methamphetamine pills, widely known as yaba. The operation, executed during the early hours of Monday, was conducted by a detective team from the Dakshinkhan Police Station across several residential pockets in the capital’s Uttara area.
The arrested police officer has been identified as 43-year-old Md Shafiqul Islam, posted at the Pallabi Police Station, while his alleged cohort was named as 24-year-old Wasim.
According to Sub-Inspector Bakhtiar Hossain of the Dakshinkhan Police Station, the intervention began following actionable intelligence pointing to an illicit narcotics transaction taking place near the Azampur raw market in Uttara. Acting swiftly on the lead, a surveillance team moved in to encircle the area. Noticing the approaching officers, Wasim attempted to flee the scene on foot but was intercepted and detained. A preliminary body search led to the discovery of an initial pouch containing 50 yaba tablets.
During on-the-spot interrogation, Wasim revealed details of a rented accommodation nearby. Officers immediately raided the premises, apprehending ASI Shafiqul and recovering a second stash of 200 tablets from his direct possession.
Further questioning of both suspects guided investigators to a third location: a flat inside Noor Building, situated in the Bismillah Palli quarter adjacent to the market. A thorough search of the flat yielded an additional cache of 5,110 pills, taking the total haul across all locations to 5,310 tablets.
The investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Shahinur Rahman, confirmed that a formal case has been registered at the Dakshinkhan Police Station under the Narcotics Control Act. The first information report names both Shafiqul and Wasim, alongside two to three unidentified accomplices suspected of facilitating the distribution pipeline. Following their arrest, both men were produced before a Dhaka metropolitan magistrate, who remanded them into judicial custody.
Statements recorded during initial questioning revealed that the network had been sourcing consignments from various border transit points across the country before distributing them throughout Dakshinkhan, Uttara, and adjoining neighbourhoods.
Commenting on the development, Inspector (Investigation) Emdadul Haque of the Pallabi Police Station confirmed that administrative authorities were aware of the arrest, noting that ASI Shafiqul had been serving at the station under irregular deployment. Internal disciplinary proceedings are expected to follow the ongoing judicial inquiry.
