RAB uncovers yaba 'factory' in Keraniganj, arrests 4 with 1,968 pills

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-10 has uncovered a yaba manufacturing facility in Keraniganj, arresting four people and seizing 1,968 yaba tablets along with raw materials and equipment used in yaba production.

The arrestees are Md Alamgir alias Ande, 40, Md Ali Arman, 36, Md Shahjahan, 40, and Sonia, 30.

Speaking at a press briefing at the RAB Media Centre in the capital's Karwan Bazar today (31 July), RAB-10 commander Additional DIG Mohammad Asaduzzaman said the raid was conducted around 10:10pm yesterday in the Moddho Char Dakshin Baluchar area under Keraniganj Model Police Station.

"During the raid, we seized 1,968 yaba tablets, various powder-like raw materials, manufacturing equipment, five mobile phones and a weighing scale," he added.

He also said the four arrestees told RAB during interrogation that they had been involved in yaba production for the past two years.

Their interrogation also indicated that the group may have been operating additional manufacturing facilities, the RAB-10 commander said.

In response to a question, he said the raw materials used to produce yaba are legally available and widely used in various industries, adding that the group had developed a method to use them to manufacture yaba.

The suspects will be taken on remand for further questioning about how they sourced the raw materials and the process they used to produce yaba, Asaduzzaman said.

He also said one of the arrestees, Alamgir, has three previous cases under the Narcotics Control Act filed with Rampura, Kamrangirchar and Mohammadpur police stations in Dhaka.

The group allegedly operated a drug distribution network in Kamrangirchar, Old Dhaka and other parts of the capital, he added.

"Legal proceedings against the four are underway," he mentioned.