Man dies after jumping off drug-laden trawler in Naf River during raid
Coast guard seizes 160,000 yaba pills from the trawler, detains Jubodal leader
A man died while attempting to escape by jumping off a drug-laden trawler in the Naf River near Shahparir Dwip in Teknaf, Cox's Bazar.
The Coast Guard later detained a ward-level Jubodal leader from the seized trawler, along with 160,000 yaba pills.
The incident occurred around 11:30am today (1 February) in the Naf River near Sabrang Union of Teknaf Upazila, said Lieutenant Mohammad Sajjad, in charge of the Coast Guard's Shahparir Ddwip station.
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The deceased, Abdus Shafi (45), was the son of the late Syed Hossain of Shahparir Dwip Dangarpara.
The detained individual, Helal Uddin, son of Nurul Amin of Shahparir Dwip Paschim Para, is the president of ward 3 Jubodal of Sabrang Union and the owner of the seized trawler.
Lieutenant Sajjad stated that the Coast Guard had received intelligence about a large consignment of drugs being smuggled from Myanmar via the Naf River.
Acting on this information, the official said a team launched a raid in the area near Shahparir Dwip. They spotted a suspicious trawler crossing the zero line of the river boundary from Myanmar and signaled it to stop. However, the traffickers attempted to flee, speeding up the vessel.
"At one point, a man on the trawler jumped into the river in an attempt to escape," Sajjad said.
The Coast Guard managed to seize the trawler and, upon searching it, discovered 160,000 yaba pills concealed in a special compartment.
The man was pulled from the river unconscious and taken to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex, where he was pronounced dead.
Dr Naushad Alam Kanan, on-duty physician at the hospital's emergency department, as there were no visible injuries on the body, it is suspected that he drowned.
However, the exact cause of death will be confirmed after an autopsy, Dr Kanan added.
The body is currently at Teknaf Upazila Health Complex.
