Despite drives no respite in Yaba smuggling

Smuggling of Yaba tablets into the country from Mayamar despite deployment of several law enforcement agencies and anti-drug drives across the country is going on unabated.
Narcotics are spreading from Teknaf throughout the country. Each and every day Yaba tablets enter Bangladesh. Law enforcers too arrest Yaba paddlers and seize huge quantity of tablets every day but still there is no respite.
Rights group Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) in a recent report says in between May and October 276 people were killed in anti-narcotics drives carried out by law enforcers.
At least another 21 people were killed in anti-narcotics drives carried out by law enforcers in last month.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized 61,400 pieces of yaba worth around Tk1.84cr in Zakiganj Upazila of Sylhet on 12 November.  
The BGB in separate drives seized 9 lakh Yaba tablets from different areas in Teknaf Upazila of Cox's Bazar on September 08.
An official of a law enforcement agency said law enforcers deployed at the border are confiscating yaba pills every day. As the influential ones are out of touch drug trafficking still cannot be brought to a halt.
A peddler said although
the smugglers have to travel long roads to carry the consignments of yaba from Myanmar to Sylhet region, they make huge profits selling each pill at the regular retail price of Tk300.
"If any crisis arises due to drives, sometimes the price rises to Tk500-600 but that comes down after one or two days," said a RAB official.
The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) also said they are considering the new route a serious threat and trying to involve all agencies to stop the smuggling via it.
This is not the first time that the drug dealers changed Cox's Bazar route to dodge law enforcers for yaba smuggling. Earlier in April, officials found syndicates using another route.
Consignments first reached Teknaf crossing the Naf River and then went to Patuakhali's Kuakata by fishing boats on the sea route. The pill then made their way to the capital via Barisal in cars, buses or trucks.
Although such consignments take four days to arrive at Kuakata from Teknaf, the syndicate members prefer the route because they believe it is less risky than the regular route - Teknaf-Chittagong-Dhaka where law enforcers conduct frequent raids.
Law enforcement sources said there were around 38 yaba factories along the border with Myanmar, reportedly capable of producing three million tablets a day, and 40 phensedyl factories along the Indian border.
Most of these pills come from neighbouring Myanmar, India and even from distant Laos. The yaba tablets are smuggled into Bangladesh using the vast bordering areas, waterways and airways.
Considering the land route unsafe, the organised gangs of drug smugglers are using water and air routes for trafficking the deadly drugs.  
As per research findings, almost 50 routes along the borders of Bangladesh are being used for yaba pills to enter this territory.
Some of the international routes are often referred as Golden Triangle, Golden Wage and Golden Crescent.