A joint anti-drug operation by the Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Intelligence Department and Tongi West Police Station led to the arrest of 20 suspected drug users in the Haji Mazar slum on Sunday night.
The raid took place along the banks of the Turag River at approximately 8:00 p.m. As officers attempted to load the detainees into a police vehicle, a massive crowd of local residents surrounded the unit. To secure the area and safely transport the suspects, police deployed four sound grenades in quick succession.
The resulting smoke and loud explosions caused panic, sending crowds fleeing and forcing nearby shops in Tongi Bazaar and the Senakalyan Bhaban area to shut down temporarily. No severe injuries were reported from the crowd dispersal.
Tongi West Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md. Arifur Rahman confirmed that the dispersal was strictly a crowd-control measure. Following the incident, formal charges were filed against the 20 detainees, and they were remanded to jail by a court on Monday afternoon.
GMP Additional Commissioner (Crime and Ops) Md. Belayet Hossain, who spearheaded the operation, stated that the clampdown on local narcotics will persist. "We are conducting these operations on the direct orders of the GMP Commissioner," Hossain said. "Our anti-drug drives in the region will continue."
