Poppy fields destroyed in CHT
Myanmar citizens held with arms
Our Correspondent, Rangamati
The joint forces of army and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) arrested three Myanmar citizens with arms and opium in the bordering area of Alikadam upazila in Bandarban on Friday night. They also destroyed poppy on vast fields and busted nine jumghar (Jum house) during the operation at Boro Modak. The arrestees were identified as -- Nalino Mro, Rangleng Mro and Uho Mro. They are poppy cultivators and aged between 25 and 30 years. Of them, Nalino Mro received minor bullet injuries as the joint forces opened fire on the group when they tried to flee the spot. The seized items include -- six local guns, an SBBL rifle, 50 grams of gunpowder, 1.1 kg of opium, 11 litres of opium juice and a radio set. The joint forces comprising around 300 personnel from different camps including district headquarters, Ruma and Lama camps, took part in the weeklong drive against the opium cultivators that started from February 17 in Boro Modak, army and BDR sources from Bandarban said. Around 50 acres of poppy fields were destroyed during the weeklong raids, they added. Such anti-drug raids are conducted each year by the army and the BDR in the border areas, particularly in the regions where poppies and other plants for producing drugs are cultivated. The joint forces destroyed vast poppy fields last year also, sources said. The arrestees and the seized items were in the custody of the joint forces as of 2:30pm yesterday.
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