How a mobile shopkeeper turned into a smuggler
Abu Taher, 26, began working at a mobile phone showroom in Gouripur, a town in the Cumilla district.
Starting with a salary of Tk6,000, Taher quickly found himself enmeshed in the darker side of the mobile phone business. Through his job, he developed connections with an international mobile smuggling ring.
Taher did not remain just an employee for long. Seeing the lucrative potential, he started smuggling mobile phones from India on his own and distributing them across various districts in the country. His initial foray into this illicit trade soon expanded as he built an organised network to support and grow his operations.
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On Saturday night, members of RAB-3 arrested four members of a gang of stolen mobile phone dealers, including Abu Taher, during a raid in Narayanganj.
More than 800 mobile phones were recovered from the suspects. Additionally, two vehicles used for transporting the illegal mobiles were seized.
The other arrestees are Mehedi Hasan, 22, Rubel Hossain, 29, and Md Noor Nabi, 32.
At a press conference in the capital's Karwan Bazaar this evening, Captain Lt Col Feroz Kabir said Taher supplied over 2,500 mobiles to the market through his organised gang in the last one and a half months.
These mobile phones are smuggled from India to evade taxes and sold in the local market at a lower price, said the official.
"Acting on a tip-off, we arrested four members of the gang, including the mastermind," he added.
The official further said, "Since the IMEI numbers of these mobile phones are not registered with the BTRC, they are highly sought after by criminals. These phones are used for various criminal activities."
