Another 7.5 Tonnes of the Patiya Sugar Haul Recovered from a Shut Shop in Chakaria, Taking the Total to 284 Sacks

Police have recovered another 150 sacks — seven and a half tonnes — of sugar in the case of a covered van hijacked in Patiya, Chattogram, with sugar worth Tk 16 lakh. The sacks were recovered around 4am on Friday (23 October) from a closed-down tailor's shop at Nonachhari in the Harbang area under Chakaria police station in Cox's Bazar.

Earlier, on Wednesday night, police had recovered 134 sacks of the same looted sugar from Aziz Nagar bazaar in Bandarban. The two recoveries bring the total to 284 sacks, out of the 300 sacks that were looted.

The arrested accused, Alamgir, was sent to court on Friday morning. On Thursday, the owner of the looted sugar, Mohammad Sirajul Islam, had filed a case with Patiya police station accusing two people. The driver of the covered van that carried the sugar has been shown arrested in the case.

Patiya police Sub-Inspector Mahbubur Rahman said that, acting on a tip-off in the early hours of Friday, police recovered 150 sacks of sugar from a closed shop at Nonachhari in Harbang Union under Chakaria police station in Cox's Bazar. The closed shop belongs to Russel, the brother of Jewel, a grocery trader in the Aziznagar area.

The sub-inspector added that after owner Sirajul Islam lodged a written complaint, a case was filed on Thursday. Covered-van driver Alamgir and Rahat Uddin Jewel, a grocery shopkeeper at Aziznagar bazaar, were named as accused in the first information report.

In his complaint, the owner alleged that the driver, in breach of trust and in collusion with the other accused, embezzled the sugar. Police said driver Alamgir has been shown arrested and sent to court, and that the whole incident is under investigation.

Police suspect that the driver, Md Alamgir, staged the hijacking in a planned way and, in collusion with the other accused, sold and embezzled 15 tonnes — 300 sacks — of sugar. In other words, the investigation is proceeding on the suspicion that this may not have been a genuine hijacking at all.

According to police, the sugar was bought by Md Rahat Uddin Jewel, owner of Rajib Store at Aziznagar bazaar, at below-market prices and then sold on to local grocery shops. Acting on a tip-off, police recovered 134 sacks from Jewel's godown at Aziznagar bazaar; Jewel fled after learning of the raid.

Babul Ahmad, a UP member of Ward 2 of Harbang Union, said grocery trader Jewel of Aziznagar bazaar and Russel of Nonachhari are brothers. After the sugar embezzlement was reported in various media, they went into hiding with their families from Wednesday night. When he went to Russel's house with police, it was found locked.

The affair began last Wednesday, when at around 5:30pm the covered van was found abandoned in front of the newly built Karnaphuli upazila building on the Chattogram-Anwara road near Shikalbaha crossing on the Chattogram-Cox's Bazar highway. The empty van, stripped of its sugar, was the first clue to the loot.

In all, police have recovered 284 of the 300 looted sacks. The remaining 16 sacks and the fugitive accused are now the investigation's main targets. Police believe arresting Jewel and Russel will lay bare the whole sugar trading ring.

Although owner Sirajul Islam now has a strong prospect of getting nearly his whole consignment back, handing over the recovered sugar will depend on the court's decision until the trial process ends. Police hope interrogation of the driver and the arrest of the fugitives will reveal the true picture of this staged hijacking.