A team of Bangladesh Coast Guard (East Zone) arrested 18 alleged wood smugglers with eight trucks loaded with tree logs worth Tk3.06 crore from the Third Shah Amanat Bridge Toll Plaza area in Chittagong city early yesterday.
They nabbed the smugglers in a drive at the area around 2am, said a press release by the coast guard.
According to the press release, the seized trucks were carrying 3,985cft of tree logs – 1,138cft of Gorjon, 536cft of Segun, 1,039cft of Gamari, 230cft of Lali and 1,042 cft of Karai.
The seized timber, which were cut down illegally from different points in Bandarban’s Lama upazila and were being smuggled to Dhaka, were handed over to Chittagong (North) Forest Division, said Lt Commander M Rajibul Islam of Bangladesh Coast Guard (East Zone).
He also said the smugglers and the trucks had been handed over to Karnaphuli police station and a case was filed in this regard.