Police seize firearm from drug-smuggling vehicle following high-speed pursuit in Ramu
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Police in Cox’s Bazar arrested a pickup driver on Thursday following a high-speed chase that led to the seizure of a firearm and ammunition, though a major consignment of yaba tablets remains at large. Authorities intercepted the vehicle near the Gorjania-Kachpia road in Ramu after receiving intelligence that traffickers were moving narcotics across the Naikhyongchhari border.
When officers at a temporary checkpoint signaled the pickup to stop at approximately 11:30 a.m., the driver refused and fled the scene. Police pursued the vehicle for two kilometers before successfully cornering it in the Hazarikul area of Fatekharkul Union. While the primary suspect carrying the narcotics managed to escape into the surrounding area, police detained the driver, 27-year-old Md. Sohel, a resident of Kachpia Union.
During a subsequent search of the pickup, officers recovered a foreign-made pistol, a magazine, and three rounds of live ammunition hidden near the steering column. According to Ramu Police Station Officer-in-Charge Monirul Islam Bhuiyan, Sohel confessed during initial questioning that the weapon was kept in the vehicle to protect the illicit cargo from rival groups. Police have filed a formal case and requested a five-day remand from the Cox’s Bazar court to further interrogate the suspect regarding the identities of his accomplices.
Local residents and law enforcement officials note that several syndicates have been using the Naikhyongchhari border as a primary entry point for narcotics smuggled from Myanmar. These groups typically store yaba in remote mountainous regions and local markets before distributing the supply to Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, and Dhaka. While authorities have conducted multiple raids leading to the seizure of large shipments and the arrests of couriers, the primary masterminds behind the regional trafficking networks continue to evade capture.
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