Four Arrested Including Indian Citizen in Chattogram, Drugs and Illegal Trawling Equipment Seized

In Chattogram’s Banshkhali, the Coast Guard and Army have arrested four individuals, including an Indian citizen, who was the mastermind behind using banned trawling equipment on a fishing boat, along with seizing drugs. On Tuesday afternoon, Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Rafid-As-Sami confirmed the incident.

He stated that based on confidential information, it was learned that banned artisanal trawling equipment was being installed at a warehouse in the Shekherkhil area of Banshkhali, Chattogram. Acting on this information, a joint operation was conducted by the Banshkhali Coast Guard Contingent and the Army on Monday midnight.

During the operation, a search of the warehouse led to the seizure of seven trawling nets worth approximately BDT 25 lakh, 34 pieces of yaba worth BDT 17,000, 10 grams of marijuana worth BDT 300, and BDT 73,230 in cash. Three Bangladeshi workers and the Indian citizen orchestrating the installation of the trawling equipment were arrested. The arrested Bangladeshis are Amal Chandra (45), Nathan Biswas (60), and Akash Biswas. The Indian citizen, Pandit Biswas (38), is a resident of South 24 Parganas in West Bengal, India. Based on information provided by the Indian citizen, a search at the warehouse owner Mannan Miah’s residence led to the recovery of Pandit Biswas’s Indian passport. Preliminary interrogation revealed that Pandit Biswas had been installing banned artisanal trawling equipment on fishing boats in Bangladesh for a long time. Since October 19 of the previous year, he had been regularly entering Bangladesh through the Bhomra land port in Satkhira. Most recently, on May 2, he entered Bangladesh via the same port, initially working in Patharghata, Barguna, and later, from July 25, in Banshkhali, Chattogram, installing banned trawling equipment on various fishing boats. A detailed investigation into his activities is ongoing. It is worth noting that wooden fishing boats are illegally equipped with trawling gear and small-mesh "behundi nets," converting them into mechanized trawling vessels. This practice destroys coral, marine plants, and juvenile fish, disrupting the ecosystem’s balance and raising concerns about potential fish depletion in the Bay of Bengal. The seized items and the detained individuals are undergoing further legal proceedings.