Twelve suspected smugglers have been arrested with a lighter vessel laden with stolen coal worth around Tk 1.1 crore during a Coast Guard operation in Barisal.
Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq said yesterday that acting on a tip-off, members of Coast Guard Station Barisal conducted an operation near Charmonai Anand Ghat under Kotwali Police Station on Friday morning.
During the drive, they intercepted a suspicious lighter vessel and, upon searching it, recovered about 1,100 metric tonnes of stolen coal. Twelve individuals on board were detained.
During primary interrogation, the detainees reportedly admitted that coal had been stolen from a foreign ship anchored at Mongla’s Hiron Point and was being smuggled.
Lieutenant Commander Siam-ul-Haq added that the seized coal and lighter vessel and the arrested men were later handed over to Barisal Kotwali Police for further legal action.
