Own Correspondent/

Police have arrested five border coal smugglers along with a consignment of Indian coal smuggled to Tahirpur in Sunamganj by sea.

On Monday afternoon, the arrested were sent to the district jail after filing a case.

The arrested are Ali Hossain son of Ali Noor of Tarang village of Uor Sreepur union of the upazila, Chalim Mia son of Shah Noor of the same village, Moktar Hossain son of Ayud Mia of neighboring Betagra village, Ibrahim son of Abul Kalam, Ruhel Mia son of Ujjal Mia of Mandiata village. Syed Iftekhar Hossain, OC of Tahirpur police station confirmed this information on Monday evening and said that during the arrest of five smugglers, about 7 metric tons of coal brought from India without duty, a steel body (small) trawler was seized.

According to the case and local sources, a group of organized smugglers brought a shipment of several tons of coal from India in duty-free bags through the border village Lalghat area under the control of Baliaghat BOP in upazila on Monday morning. After that, the police arrested five smugglers along with the coal cargo in the waterway of Patlai river in Tahirpur during a police operation on the way to take the cargo of coal loaded with trawler to Kalmakanda upazila of Netrakona. During the operation, seven other smugglers managed to escape, but the police seized about 7 metric tons (7 thousand kg) of Indian coal and a steel body trawler from the custody of the arrested smugglers. After the seizure list of coal and steel body trawlers on Monday afternoon, police SI Al Amin filed a case against 12 smugglers including those who were arrested and absconding.