A nearly three-hour police raid at a senior police official’s residence in Dhaka’s Bhatara led to the detention of 85 people, including 26 women, early Tuesday, with the detainees later receiving jail terms and fines through a summary trial.
Police seized liquor, one yaba pill and paraphernalia used to consume the drug during the raid at Additional Deputy Inspector General Abdullah Al Zahir’s house.
A team from the Detective Branch (DB) Uttara Division raided the 3-story house in the Additional DIG Abdullah Al Zahir Police Housing-1 residential area from 2:30am to 5:30am on Tuesday, following Monday night.
According to the seizure list, police recovered an empty 750ml bottle of locally produced Carew whisky, a 1-liter bottle of Indian Royal Stag containing about 500ml of liquor, and a 1-liter bottle of Smirnoff vodka containing around 200ml of liquor. A 1-liter bottle of whisky from an Indian company was also seized.
The list also included 1 yaba pill, paraphernalia used for yaba consumption, and a small amount of cough syrup residue known as Kush.
Several DB officials told Dhaka Tribune that the seizure list had surprised officials, particularly given the number of people detained and allegations of prolonged drug use and regular DJ parties at the house.
Following the raid, DB officials had said illegal drug use and DJ parties had been taking place at the house for a long time. They had also claimed that a large quantity of liquor, cannabis, yaba and paraphernalia used for yaba consumption had been seized.
The DB said the detainees were sentenced through summary trial. Each woman received 15 days in jail and a Tk500 fine, with an additional 3 days in prison in default of payment. Each man received a 1-month jail term and a Tk1,000 fine.
Al Zahir was removed from his duties and attached to Police Headquarters after the raid became public. He had been working in the Maintenance and Repair branch at Police Headquarters. His attachment to Police Headquarters effectively placed him in Officer on Special Duty (OSD) status.
The raid was led by Deputy Commissioner (DC) of DB Uttara Division Ilias Kabir. He said those detained had consumed liquor and yaba before the raid, leaving only the remaining substances recovered by police.
Kabir said parties had been organized regularly at Zahir’s house since 2025. Five of its 6 rooms were rented out through the online platforms Airbnb and Travala, while the caretaker occupied another room.
According to Kabir, the house, including the 5 rented rooms, was arranged to accommodate 10 people. It was rented out for Tk18,500 per day, with each partygoer required to pay an additional Tk600. Between 20 and 22 parties were held there each month.
Kabir said a man named Mahbub Alam received 30% of the monthly profit as commission, while the remaining 70% went to Zahir.
Earlier, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Additional Commissioner (DB) Shafiqul Islam had said the additional DIG rented out the house through online platforms and that tenants used it for drug-related activities. Of the 85 people detained, 26 were women.
DB officials said regular DJ parties were organized at the house, with invitations circulated through online advertisements. They said 5 bottles of liquor and a large quantity of synthetic drugs had been seized during the operation.