A Chittagong court has ordered RAB to launch further investigation into the seizure of liquid cocaine imported in the name of sunflower oil.
The court of Metropolitan Magistrate Rahmat Ali gave the order Monday after rejecting the charge sheet.
Chittagong Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner (prosecution) Niramalendu Bikash Chakrabarty told the Dhaka Tribune the court ruled that the charge sheet contained flaws and scrapped it.
“In the charge sheet, investigators dropped the name of Nur Mohammed, an accused in the case. The court considered it a flaw and ordered RAB to carry out further investigations,” he said.
Niramalendu said an accused in the case mentioned Nur Mohammed’s name while giving a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the court.
The court on November 22 said it would hear the case on December 7 in the presence of the investigating officer, who submitted the charge sheet on November 19 accusing eight persons, including two Bangladeshi expatriates living in the UK.
The eight are Cosco Shipping Agency Manager AKM Azad, Mondol Group’s Commercial Executive Atikur Rahman, real estate company official Mostafa Kamal, Prime Hatchery Limited Manager Golam Mostafa Shohel, security company official Mehedi, Saiful Islam, and two expatriates Fazlur Rahman and Bokul Miah.
Of them, six have been arrested while the two expats have been shown fugitive.
While submitting the charge sheet, the investigating officer, assistant commissioner of the Detective Branch of Chittagong Metropolitan Police Mohammed Kamruzzaman, also suggested dropping the name of Nur Mohammed, chairman of Khan Jahan Ali Group which allegedly imported the cocaine, from the charge sheet, saying that his involvement could not be established during the probe.
Kamruzzaman said he submitted the charge sheet after several chemical tests of the evidence and recording depositions of 58 witnesses.
The case was lodged under the Narcotics Control Act.
In the charge sheet, it was said that some 370 litres of liquid cocaine, imported in barrels in the name of sunflower oil, had been found in several lab tests.