3 held for looting Square Pharma raw material

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has detained three robbers, including the mastermind behind the looting of Tk2 crore worth of raw material from the Square Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

A team of RAB 4 detained them from Dhaka and Rajshahi on Tuesday night, said Lieutenant Colonel Sarwar Bin Kashem, director of the Legal and Media wing of RAB.

"The robbers looted the raw material, disguised as officials of a law enforcement agency," Sarwar added.

The detainees are – mastermind of the gang Apu Rojario, Ruhul Amin and Jamal Hossain, said RAB 4 Commanding Officer Mozammel Haque at a press conference in Dhaka on Wednesday.

The trio looted 269 drums of raw material (Metformin and Cefixime Trihydrate) from a covered van heading from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to a factory in Kaliakoir area of Gazipur on January 14 this year.

Square Pharma, the company that imported the raw material, filed a case with Kaliakoir police station the next day.

The RAB 4 commanding officer said, "The robbers' gang specifically targeted raw material used to produce drugs. They had robbed raw material twice in the past using the same style.

"We have detained the mastermind of the gang, but he is clever. He has made a partial confession, but did not tell us many things. The RAB is now looking for the gang's second-in-command. He knows details about the market, and the buyers of looted drugs."

Responding to a query, Mozammel Haque said, "The gang collected information either from insiders at the airport's cargo village or the company staff. The gang has 12 members, and law enforcers have arrested at least six of them. RAB is working to track down the rest of the group."

"Police are investigating the case, while RAB is shadow investigating. The police have helped us detain the trio."