NETROKONA — Police seized a covered van carrying a large quantity of saris and other Indian textiles smuggled across the border after the vehicle hit a tree in the Kankura area of Barhatta upazila on Thursday morning, officials said.
The van was stopped around 9:30 a.m. at Kankurabazar, police said. The driver, identified as Ibrahim, 25, and his assistant Sabbir, 27, both of Maona Chourasta in Gazipur, were detained, police said.
According to police, local residents and the detained driver, the consignment of saris and three-piece sets was loaded onto the van from a boat near the Madhyanagar border in Sunamganj district and was bound for Gazipur. The van struck a tree on the way, in the Kankura area of Barhatta upazila.
Residents who stopped the vehicle questioned the driver, and when he could not answer, they opened the van and found the goods inside, residents said. They alerted police, who seized the vehicle and took it to the station along with the two men, police said.
A large quantity of Indian saris and three-piece sets was found inside, police said.
Ibrahim told police he had set out from the border area before dawn. “We have people helping us everywhere. They show us the route,” he said. “I had not slept for four or five days, so I fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle.”
Azizul Haque Faruq, a cultural activist in Barhatta upazila, said residents have detained smuggling vehicles in the area several times in the past. “Law enforcement should increase surveillance,” he said.
Nasir Uddin Talukdar, chairman of Singdha union parishad in Barhatta, said village police informed him that a truck had run into a house beside the road and damaged a room. “They tried to pay a fine and leave hurriedly, which raised suspicion among local residents,” he said. “After I informed police, they seized the truck.”
Kamrul Hasan, officer-in-charge of Barhatta police station, said local officers were at the scene when the saris, fabrics and textiles were seized. Preparation of an inventory was under way, he said.
Mirza Sayem Mahmud, Netrokona’s police superintendent, said the contents of the seized truck had been opened in front of local residents and journalists. Operations against smuggled textiles and narcotics would continue, and a case was being prepared, he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report