Bangladesh News

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-3) personnel yesterday unearthed a factory of contraband Indian drug Phensidyl at North Rayerbagh in the city and arrested three persons with huge quantity of Phensidyl-making chemical and other materials.

The arrested were identified as Moni Akhter alias ‘Phensi Moni’, 40, Kamal Hossain, 35, and Parvej. But the key figures behind the illegal business couldn’t be arrested.

The factory is housed in a tin-shed building. It is used as a storehouse of the smuggled Phensidyl from where it is supplied to the wholesalers across the city.

Rab-3 officials said they seized a huge quantity of smuggled Phensidyl, Phensidyl-making liquid chemicals, different kinds of powder, several hundred empty bottles, fake labels of phensidyl, corks and other materials.

Maj Muhammad Redowanul Islam of Rab-3 said on information they first arrested Kamal, a microbus driver of a rent-a-car centre, with about 150 bottles of Phensidyl in his possession on Thursday morning.

Following the lead extracted from Kamal Rab personnel then discovered the factory, he said.

Redowanul said two persons — Jamal and Masud — manufacture Phensidyl and they are mainly responsible for this illicit business.

Maj Redwanul said Moni had been running the illegal business along with the others for several years in the area and wholesale customers from across the country collect Phensidyl from the factory.

Talking to The Daily Star detained Moni Akhter said her three nephews Jamal, Masud and Morshed mainly run the business and her house was being used for this purpose.

Jamal and Masud aged around 30 years are not the chemists and have no expertise in manufacturing Phensidyle but they had been doing so for several years risking the lives of the addicts, said Rab officials.

Driver Kamal said he used to carry Phensidyl from Comilla in his microbus for Tk 5,000 for each trip.

Contacted, Rab Director General Hassan Mahmood Khandaker told The Daily Star, “As Rab members have been very sincere in their drive against drug peddlers the prices of Phensidyl have gone up.”