Two Indian nationals arrested with 5.12kg of ‘Kush’ at Dhaka airport

Two Indian nationals have been arrested with 5.12kg of ‘Kush’, a potent synthetic drug, at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, authorities said Friday (August 28).

The arrested men were identified as Abdul Rahman, 46, and Mohammad Iqbal Ansari, 45, residents of West Bengal, India.

According to a statement from the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), its officials, acting on intelligence, took position at the Green Channel of the airport’s arrival hall around 1pm on Thursday.

The two suspects arrived on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok and were stopped for questioning. A search of their travel trolleys, conducted in the presence of officials from different agencies working at the airport, led to the recovery of 5.12kg of Kush.

Officials also seized two Indian passports, $500 in cash, Tk 10,000 in Indian currency and three smartphones from the suspects.

A case has been filed against the two at Airport Police Station under the Narcotics Control Act. DNC Inspector Shahriya Sharmin, of the airport circle, filed the case.

The DNC described Kush as a highly potent and dangerous synthetic drug. Several consignments of the drug have been seized at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in recent weeks.

On August 18, authorities seized 4.18kg of Kush from a consignment. Two Indian nationals, Akash Dubey and Akash Pandey, allegedly linked to the shipment, fled after leaving behind their travel trolleys and photocopies of their passports. A case was subsequently filed against them.

On August 22, Hussain Abdul Kader Sheikh, a resident of Karnataka, India, was arrested after 3kg of Kush was recovered from him following his arrival on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok.

Two days later, on August 24, DNC officials arrested two West Bengal residents, Sanowar Ali and Imtiaz Ahmed, with another 5.04kg of Kush at the same airport.

The latest seizure brings renewed attention to the movement of the emerging synthetic drug through Dhaka's main international gateway.