Two Sentenced to Life for Phensidyl Smuggling in Chittagong

A Chittagong court has sentenced two men to life imprisonment for trafficking 1,000 bottles of the banned drug Phensidyl. Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md. Tajul Islam delivered the verdict on Wednesday.

The convicts, Md. Harun of Comilla's Laksam and van driver Md. Nasir Uddin of Nangalkot, were each fined Tk 50,000. Failure to pay will result in an additional six months in prison. Both men were present in court for the verdict and were subsequently sent to jail.

According to court documents, Detective Branch (DB) police arrested the duo on August 13, 2018. Acting on a tip-off, officers intercepted a Chittagong-bound covered van near the Sahara Hotel in the City Gate area along the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway. A search revealed 1,000 bottles of Phensidyl concealed in 25 plastic sacks behind the driver’s seat.

Police seized the vehicle and filed a case under the Narcotics Control Act at the Akbarshah Police Station. The court reached its guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt after examining testimonies from 10 of the 23 listed witnesses.