Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) conducted drives at three trading companies in the city and arrested nine people, including owners of the organisations, on charges of importing unauthorised medical devices and reagents and for selling and marketing those items after renewing expired dates through forgery.

The elite force also seized a large quantity of unauthorised, expired and counterfeit engraved adulterated medical test kits and reagents from their possessions.

The arrestees were identified as owner of Biolab International Md. Shamim Mollah (40), manager Md. Shahidul Alam (42), and Md. Mahmudul Hasan (40); managing director of Exxon Technologies and Services Limited SM Mostafa Kamal (48); managing director of Hi-Tech Health Care Limited Abdullah Al Baki Shabbir (24), Engineer of Biolab International Md. Ziaur Rahman (35), Office Assistant of Biolab International Md. Sumon (35), its accountant Habibur Rahman, its office clerk Jahidul Amin Pulak (26), service engineer Md. Sohail Rana (28).

Based on secret information, an operational team of RAB-2 battalion carried out a drive at Lalmatia and Banani areas from 3:30pm on Thursday to till Friday morning.

During the drive, the RAB conducted a raid at Biolab International of Lalmatia and then its sister organisations-- Exxon Technologies and Services Limited and Hi-Tech Health Care Limited --of Banani areas and arrested the nine people and seized huge quantities of unauthorized, expired and counterfeit engraved adulterated medical test kits and reagents, said ASP Abdullah Al Mamun of RAB-2.

During preliminary inquiries and interrogations, the arrested people revealed that with the help of each other, they were involved in collecting expired test kits and reagents from domestic suppliers at a very low cost and then selling those after reprinting new dates.