Bangladesh Navy arrested 1,450 bags of cement, five engine-powered wooden fishing boats and 52 members of a smuggling gang during a patrol operation in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday night.

Bangladesh Navy ships, while engaged in patrolling, spotted two suspicious engine-powered wooden fishing boats off St Martins, said a press release on Saturday.

The navy ships, which observed the suspicious movements of the two fishing boats, arrested the two fishing boats. The seized boats FB Ma Nur Jahan and FB Homayara were searched and 1,450 bags of cement were recovered.

At that time, 22 members of the cement smuggling gang were also arrested.

The arrested persons said that they were taking the cements to Myanmar for smuggling in the hope of making more profit.

In addition, during the interrogation of the arrested fishermen, it was learned that 3 engine-powered wooden boats named FB Ma Janani-1, FB Ashraful Islam Sayad and FB Haji Basirullah are involved in smuggling cement to Myanmar.

 The navy’s patrol ship conducted a special operation and arrested 3 other fishing boats and 30 members involved in the smuggling ring.

After the operation, the seized cement and the arrested people were handed over to Teknaf police station for legal action.