Drugs worth crores found in anonymous parcel from US, 3 held
The Department of Narcotics Control has recovered drugs worth crores from an anonymous parcel dispatched from California, US.
Three people were arrested in connection with the incident, confirmed Mustaqeem Billah Faruqi, director general of the narcotics control department.
The arrestees were identified as Imran Ahmed Raj, 20, Rasel Mia, 29 and Ramjan Mia, 20.
During a press conference held at the Narcotics Control Directorate in the capital today (23 April), Mustaqeem Billah said the parcel bore no address, only a mobile number.
He said, "Acting on intelligence information, we intercepted the parcel from the US state of California. Inside, six packets of Tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] containing Kush [a cheap synthetic drug], along with nine chocolates and 10 cakes infused with American cannabis extract, were recovered. The market value of the seized narcotics amounts to crores.
The narcotics control chief noted these cannabis are made synthetically, which is hundreds of times worse than the cannabis produced in Bangladesh.
He said the arrests were made based on the mobile number listed on the parcel.
"They have confessed their involvement in the drug trade during initial questioning. They have also admitted their longstanding association with the illicit business," he added.
Expressing concern over a recent trend involving drugs mixed in cakes and chocolates, he urged the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) to investigate whether similar practices are occurring within domestically produced cakes.