Arms, drugs seized from Nur Hossain’s shops

Police have seized local weapons and a huge quantity of liquor in a raid on shops rented out at a Shiddhirganj truck-stand by Nur Hossain, the prime suspect in the abduction and murder of seven people in Narayanganj. The raid, lasting one and a half hours, started at around 4pm on Friday, said Mainur Rahman, a sub-inspector of the Special Branch, Narayanganj police. Hossain, a city councillor and a local Awami League leader, is the Siddhirganj unit chief of a truck drivers’ body. Locals say he is “very influential” at the Shimrail truck-terminal. He had not been seen in public since the seven men, including city councillor Nazrul Islam, were abducted on Apr 27. Nazrul’s family claimed Hossain was behind the murders. Police raided his house on May 3 and seized a ‘suspicious’ vehicle. On May 6, local authorities evicted over 50 illegal shacks on the banks of Shitalakhyya, used by the absconding Hossain for his sand business. During Friday’s raid, a large number of locally made weapons, contraband phensedyl and foreign liquor were seized, police said.