85 sentenced by mobile court after raid on addl DIG's property, one yaba pill, 'kush', alcohol seized

Police detained 85 people, including 26 women and an Afghan national, during a raid on a rented house owned by Additional Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Abdullah Al Zahir in the capital's Bhatara area over drug use and DJ parties, with all 85 sentenced by a mobile court.

The nearly three-hour raid yielded just one yaba pill, a small quantity of a substance identified as "kush" and four bottles of alcohol, according to the Detective Branch (DB) seizure list.

The bottles included an empty 750ml bottle of locally manufactured Carew whisky, a one-litre bottle of Indian whisky half-filled with liquor, a one-litre vodka bottle containing about a quarter of its original volume and a one-litre bottle of whisky from another Indian brand. Police also recovered equipment used to consume yaba.

The small quantity of drugs recovered raised questions among officials from other DB divisions.

Under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Act, each male detainee was sentenced to one month in jail and fined Tk1,000. Those unable to pay the fine face an additional 15 days in jail. Women were sentenced to 15 days in jail and fined Tk500, with an additional three days in jail for non-payment.

The DB's Uttara division raided the three-storey house in the Police Housing-1 residential area of Bhatara from 2:30am to 5:30am early Tuesday.

DB Uttara Deputy Commissioner Ilias Kabir, who led the operation, said his team had no prior information about parties at the house. They acted on instructions from senior authorities, but he did not disclose the source of the instructions.

Kabir said the detainees had consumed the alcohol and yaba before police arrived, leaving only a small quantity to be seized.

He added co-host Mahbubul Alam, who helped manage the property, was also among those detained.

Kabir claimed the house had hosted regular parties since 2025.

Five of its six rooms were rented out through Airbnb and Traveler, while the caretaker occupied the remaining room. The house was rented out for Tk18,500 a day, with each partygoer paying an additional Tk600, Kabir added.

According to the DB, 20 to 22 such events were held each month.

The DB said Mahbubul Alam received 30% of the profits as commission, while owner Abdullah Al Zahir received the remaining 70%.

Speaking to The Business Standard (TBS) earlier, Zahir said the house was listed on Airbnb and Traveler and that someone had rented it on Monday for a birthday celebration. He said the rental rules prohibited illegal activities, including drug and alcohol use.

Zahir questioned whether landlords should be held responsible when tenants secretly engage in criminal activities.