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Published : 12 Dec 2025, 03:00 PM
The Department of Narcotics Control has seized a consignment of a synthetic drug known as "MDMB" for the first time in Bangladesh.
The drug, a liquid substance, is usually consumed by mixing it into vape or e-cigarette cartridges, according to the authorities.
The seizure was announced on Friday at a media briefing at the Department of Narcotics Control headquarters in Dhaka’s Segunbagicha.
The department’s Director-General Hasan Maruf said the drug had been brought into Bangladesh from Malaysia by an organised group.
“Four people, including the ringleader, have been arrested in connection with the smuggling,” he said.
Maruf said the consignment was tracked and seized under the global intelligence-sharing programme “Operation Vapour 8”, launched by the International Narcotics Control Board as the use of vapes and e-cigarettes among young people surges worldwide.
The arrestees include university students Khandaker Tawkirul Kabir Tamim, 26, and Mehedi Hasan Rakib, 26, private sector employee Masum Masfiqur Rahman alias Shahosh, 27, and Ashraful Islam, 25, whose movements were traced across online marketplaces, social media and the dark web.
A total of 340ml of MDMB, cannabis-infused chocolate and vaping devices were recovered.
Tamim was first arrested with 20ml of MDMB in Mirpur’s Pallabi area on Dec 10 after investigators ordered samples from him through a source. His interrogation led to the arrest of Rakib with 10ml of the substance.
Further analysis of their devices helped identify Ashraf and Shahosh, who were detained with 310ml of MDMA in five containers, along with marijuana chocolates and other equipment.
Ashraf, a resident of Mirpur’s Senpara, told investigators he had long supplied the drug to “elite” clients in Dhaka and sourced the substance from Malaysia, according to officials.
