Law enforcers are making large hauls of the contraband Yaba pills at an increasing rate yet they cannot indentify who are running the drug trade in Teknaf of Cox's Bazar.
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have recovered more than 800,000 Yaba tablets from Teknaf after the killing of Maj (retd) Sinha Md Rashed Khan on Juky 31.
Those running the anti-narcotics drive, however, do not have a clear answer to the question. It is been 15 months that the so-called gunfight against drug traders has been going on and in Cox's Bazar alone 204 have been killed.
After killing someone on the Marina Drive in Teknaf in Cox's Bazar police identify the deceased as a Yaba trader. ABM Masud Hossain, the top law enforcer in the district, told the media after the killing of Maj (retd) Sinha, "Police reportedly heard that 2 to 3 people wearing Burkha-type clothes had got down from a hill in Marishbunia area and got into a car.
"When the police personnel stopped and tried to search the vehicle, one of the passengers showed his gun and attempted to open fire at the policemen. Therefore, the police officials shot him to defend themselves," the SP added.
Interestingly, police recovered little amount of Yaba. Meanwhile, other forces recovered huge amount of Yaba pills from Teknaf.
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have recovered 390,000 pieces of Yaba tablets from Damdamia bordering area of Teknaf upazila of Cox's Bazar on August 15.
BGB have recovered 140,000 Yaba tablets from Rajuamtoli area of Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazar on August 16.
Earlier, BGB have recovered 230,000 Yaba tablets from Kharakhali area of Teknaf upazila in Cox's Bazar on August 11.
Lt Col Mohammad Faisal Hasan Khan, Commanding Officer of BGB Battalion-2 in Teknaf, said several drug smugglers were entering Bangladesh with a big shipment of Yaba pills.
Drug traffickers have benefitted from law enforcement manpower being stretched thin by the Covid-19 pandemic, and they have changed their tactics to suit the situation. Heroin, Yaba, and phensedyl are being smuggled in ambulances or crates of fruits and vegetables. Sometimes the crates are even marked as relief supplies.
The seizure of illegal drug shipments had dropped after the country went into Covid-19 lockdown in late March. But Police, RAB, and the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), are now once again ramping up anti-drug activities in Dhaka and Cox's Bazar.
