The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) has seized a large quantity of shisha and arrested three people in four coordinated overnight raids in Dhaka, reports bdnews24.com.
Officials say 65.9 kg of shisha, 41 hookahs, 40 kg of charcoal used for shisha smoking, and five mobile phones were recovered during the operation.
At a press briefing at the DNC headquarters on Friday, its Additional Director (Intelligence) Md Badruddin said the coordinated operation was carried out in Gulshan and Bhatara areas.
Badruddin described it as "the largest quantity of shisha ever recovered in a single operation in Bangladesh".
He said the arrestees included two brothers, Ahmed Sharifi, 34, and Mehdad Sharifi, 34, whom investigators identified as the leaders of an inter-district online drug network, along with another suspect, Maksud Alam.
Ahmed and Mehdad learnt the shisha business while living in Iran before returning to Bangladesh and launching the operation. The brothers had long been using Facebook to sell and distribute illegal shisha and related smoking accessories to customers in Dhaka and elsewhere across the country.
The DNC said investigators, led by Deputy Director Mehedi Hasan, launched the operation on Thursday after receiving information that two consignments of shisha ordered through a Facebook page were being shipped to customers by courier.
The first parcel, containing 1 kg of shisha, was seized in Bashundhara Residential Area. Officers later intercepted a second parcel, containing another 1 kg of shisha in Malibag.
After verifying the sender's address, investigators raided a flat in Kalachandpur later that day and arrested the two brothers. Based on information obtained during questioning, officers searched the flat and recovered 45.9 kg of shisha and 20 hookahs.
Brothers arrested in 'record shisha bust'
FE Team | Published: July 03, 2026 23:12:40 | Updated: July 03, 2026 23:56:15
Brothers arrested in 'record shisha bust'
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