‘Drug peddler’ killed in Cox’s Bazar 'gunfight'

A suspected drug peddler was killed in a reported gunfight with police in Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazar early today.

The deceased was identified as Babul, 26, son of Anwar Hossain of Hinla Pashchim Sikdarpara in the upazila, said Pradip Kumar Dash, officer-in-charge (OC) of Teknaf Police Station.

Tipped off that some drug peddlers were dealing drugs in a hilly area, a police team launched a drive around 2:30am, our Cox’s Bazar correspondent reports.

Sensing presence of the police team, a group of the drug dealers opened fire, forcing the lawmen to fire back in self-defense, triggering a “gunfight”. 

After the gunfight, police rescued Babul who suffered injuries with bullet, the OC said.

Babul was rushed to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex and later shifted to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital where doctors declared him dead, said the OC.

The policemen recovered eight bullets, seven rounds of bullet shells from the spot and seized 5,000 yaba tablets from the possession of Babul.