Police arrested two alleged drug smugglers along with 22,000 Tapentadol tablets at Ghoraghat upazila in Dinajpur.
The arrested individuals were attempting to smuggle the drugs disguised as passengers in a CNG-run autorickshaw.
The arrested are Abu Hayat, 37, from Raivangi area Gobindaganj upazila in Gaibandha district and Akhinur Mia, 35, from Mitali village under Ghoraghat municipality in Dinajpur.
Ghoraghat Police Station officer-in-charge Nazmul Haque confirmed the incident on Wednesday, adding that a tip-off led police to intercept an autorickshaw on Tuesday night around 10:30 PM in front of a sawmill on Kamdia Road at ward no 9 of Ghoraghat municipality.
Upon searching the vehicle, police discovered the tablets worth an estimated market value of Tk 44 lakh.
During initial questioning, the suspects admitted to being part of a long-running drug trafficking operation. They revealed that they had been transporting the Tapentadol tablets from Cumilla using the a courier service, he said.
A case has been filed under the Narcotics Control Act and the arrested will be presented before the Dinajpur District Court, added the police official.
