Chittagong Metropolitan Police Scandal Involving Seized Narcotics Misappropriation

A formal investigation conducted by the Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) has revealed severe systemic corruption inside the Bakalia Police Station. The inquiry established that a tactical unit intercepted a police constable smuggling 100,000 Yaba tablets, only to confiscate and misappropriate the narcotics before releasing the suspect without charge, acting on the explicit commands of the station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC).

The operational misconduct took place on 8 December last year. It remained hidden from senior leadership until an audio recording of a telephone conversation between the drug courier and an associate was leaked on social media networks. In response, an inquiry panel chaired by Additional Commissioner (Traffic) Md. Wahidul Haque Chowdhury was assembled. Though their final six-page brief was forwarded to Police Headquarters on 29 April recommending criminal indictments, no official First Information Report (FIR) has been registered, and the state has failed to recover the stolen drugs.

Breakdown of the Interception and Cover-Up

According to the documented sequence of events, Constable Imtiaz Hossain—who was deployed as an armed guard for a district judge in Cox’s Bazar—was acting as a courier to transport a substantial quantity of narcotics aboard a Dhaka-bound Desh Travels passenger bus. Hossain had reportedly negotiated a fee of Taka 80,000 from a Cox’s Bazar-based distributor named Md. Mosharraf to deliver the illicit cargo to its destination.

When the commercial bus crossed the Shah Amanat Bridge over the Karnafuli River, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Saddam Hossain and an ununiformed police informant boarded the vehicle. They extracted Hossain from his seat and escorted him to a nearby roadside police checkpoint. Although the bus supervisor, Md. Mizan, attempted to monitor the situation, Sub-Inspector (SI) Amir Hossain ordered the bus crew to depart immediately, allowing the driver to continue towards Dhaka.

Inside the police post, the ununiformed informant inspected the luggage in the presence of Bakalia Inspector (Investigation) Tanveer Ahmed and SI Al-Amin Sarkar, discovering ten independent plastic modules containing 10,000 Yaba pills each. The officers systematically transferred the 100,000 tablets into their own possession but handed the empty suitcase back to the courier. Operating under direct orders from Bakalia OC Aftab Uddin, the unit permitted Hossain to walk free, enabling him to escape to his ancestral home in Comilla via a hired motorized three-wheeler.

Statutory Framework and Disciplinary Responses

The internal review concluded that OC Aftab Uddin systematically sought to suppress all evidence of the operation, purposefully failing to secure local closed-circuit television (CCTV) records. The inquiry noted that under Section 46 of the Narcotics Control Act 2018, drug trafficking constitutes a cognizable offense. By discharging an active suspect without logging an entry or drafting a formal seizure manifest, the OC violated Rule 244 of the Bangladesh Police Regulations (PRB) and committed a punishable offense under Section 29 of the Police Act.

While eight subordinate officers and the courier were placed under suspension shortly after the initial inquiry, disciplinary action against the senior inspectors faced administrative delays. Under statutory rules, Regional Commissioners and Superintendents can independently suspend personnel up to the rank of Sub-Inspector, but the suspension of an Inspector must be approved by the Inspector General of Police (IGP). Consequently, Inspector Tanveer Ahmed was suspended on 9 June, whereas Aftab Uddin—who has since been reassigned as the OC of Kotwali Police Station—remains on active duty.

Defending his conduct to investigative journalists, Aftab Uddin stated:

“I have no knowledge regarding the Yaba tablets. I did not misappropriate any items. I was present at my private residence at the time of the alleged incident.”

Administrative and Operational Roster of Implicated Personnel

The following table summarizes the operational status and specific indictments against the members of the Bakalia Police Station:

Demands for Criminal Accountability

Independent legal specialists have expressed profound concern over the absence of formal criminal litigation. Abdus Sattar, the former president of the Chittagong District Bar Association, noted that station officers committed an egregious breach of the penal code by releasing an active drug courier. He insisted that a regular criminal investigation must be opened to discover if illicit financial payments were traded in exchange for the narcotics.

The independent departmental trial against the eight lower-tier suspended officers is being managed by CMP Additional Deputy Commissioner (West) Abdullah Mohammad Sheikh Sadi, who confirmed that his inquiry remains active. Concurrently, the newly appointed Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Hasan Md. Shawkat Ali, reaffirmed that the metropolitan force operates under a zero-tolerance mandate regarding narcotics, vowing to launch an immediate review into why the filing of a regular criminal case has been delayed for over six months.