Constable, wife sent to jail 'for carrying yaba'

A police constable and his wife have landed in jail after they were caught allegedly with around 8,000 yaba tablets in Teknaf.

Constable Ershad Alam, 32, of Chakaria Police Station, and his wife Kamrun Nahar, 23, were detained when they were crossing Hwang Kwang Check Post on Cox's Bazar-Teknaf highway in a microbus around 11:45pm on Monday.

The microbus had no number plate. So, on-duty Border Guard Bangladesh members stopped it and recovered the tablets, worth around Tk 24 lakh, wrapped in 40 small polythene bags from the vehicle, say statement of a case filed over the incident.

The BGB men caught the couple. The next afternoon, they were handed over to Teknaf police and a BGB member lodged a narcotics case against the duo with the police station.

Later, police produced them before the district's senior judicial magistrate's court that sent them to jail, said Sub-inspector Joynal Abedin, investigation officer of the case.

Contacted, Bakhtiar Uddin Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of Chakaria Police Station, said Ershad joined the police station as a constable around eight months ago.

 “However, he was absent there for the last three days. My higher authorities have been informed about the matter,” he said.

Meanwhile, sources in Teknaf Police Station said Ershad had also worked there. He left it two years ago but was frequently seen in Teknaf.

Chailau Marma, assistant superintendent of police (Ukhia Circle), said they would investigate the case and take departmental action if the accused is found guilty.

On Sunday, The Daily Star published a report with a Dhaka Metropolitan Police's list of godfathers and patrons of yaba trade that includes a section of corrupt policemen.

A Police Headquarters source said departmental inquiry was underway against 139 policemen from the ranks of inspector down to constables while actions have already been taken against 13 for their links with drug traders and taking bribe.