4 sentenced to death for yaba smuggling

A Cox’s Bazar court has sentenced four people including a Rohingya man to death for smuggling 13 lakh yaba pills.

Cox’s Bazar District and Sessions Judge Mohammad Ismail passed the order around 12:30pm on Wednesday.

The court also fined Tk 50,000 each of them.  

The death-row convicts are Md Ayaz, 34, of Balukhali Rohingya Camp-13, Billal, 37, of Cox’s Bazar sadar upazila, Azimullah, 43, of Manikchari upazila in Khagrachhari and Abul Kalam, 37.

Public Prosecutor of the court Advocate Faridul Alam said a team of Rapid Action Battalion-15 arrested Ayaz and Billal from a fishing boat after conducting a drive around 7pm on August 23, 2020.  At that time, 4-5 men managed to flee away from the spot. Later, RAB raided the boat and recovered 13 lakh yaba pills and 10 thousand cash money from it. 

RAB-15 Nayeb Subedar Md Harunur Rashid filed a case against Ayaz and Billal and 4-5 unnamed persons over the matter.   

On June 10, 2021, the Investigation officer of the case and RAB-15 Sub Inspector Mohammad Sohel Shikder submitted a charge sheet to the court in the case.