An alleged member of a drug smuggling gang was killed in a "gunfight" with the Bangladesh Coast Guard on the Naf River in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf early today.

The deceased is Jamal Uddin, 35, said the Coast Guard.

Lt Commander Md Siam-ul-Haq, media officer of the Bangladesh Coast Guard, said that after receiving secret information about a drug shipment from Myanmar, a patrol team of the coast guard gave a signal to stop a boat in Golar Char area on the estuary of the Naf near Shahpari Island early in the morning when they entered Bangladeshi waters.

As they disobeyed the signal and started fleeing toward Cox's Bazar at high speed, the Coast Guard fired blank shots to stop the boat, he added.

At one stage, the alleged smugglers on the trawler started firing at the Coast Guard members, forcing them to retaliate, the media officer said.

After the gun battle, Coast Guard personnel rescued one person named Jamal with gunshot wounds from the trawler.

He was then taken to a hospital in Teknaf, where doctors declared him dead.

Coast Guard detained 16 alleged robbers and drug smugglers by searching the trawler. Among them, five are Rohingyas.

Nearly 10,000 Yaba pills, three locally made firearms, and three rounds of live ammunition were recovered from their possession, he said.

Quoting the arrestees, the Coast Guard official also said they confessed to bringing drugs from Myanmar to Bangladesh for smuggling. They also threw a large number of drugs into the Naf River when they sensed the presence of the Coast Guard.

The operation to recover the discarded drugs is ongoing, he said.

Muhammad Gias Uddin, OC of Teknaf Police Station, said the body has been sent to Cox's Bazar hospital morgue for autopsy.