The law enforces have identified that a section of consumers from affluent families are the main consumers of crystal methamphetamine, popularly known as 'Ice' - a highly addictive narcotic.
The 'elite' customers who were previously addicted to Yaba now use 'Ice' to bring about a change in their drug habits, law enforcers said.
In recent years, authorities intercepted as many as 11 consignments of crystal meth in Dhaka, Chattogram and Pirojpur, all of which reportedly came from Myanmar.
The drug sells between Tk 10,000 and Tk 25,000 per gram, according to Detective Branch of police. Strengthened surveillance on Cox's Bazar Marine Drive could not stop the smuggling of the crazy crystal methamphetamine, or 'Ice' from Myanmar.
Members of the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) arrested 10 drug dealers with 500 grams of Ice and 5000 Yaba tablets from the capital's Uttara and Vatara areas last Friday.
The 'Ice' looks like palm candy and can make 500 Yaba-like tablets with one gram of it, according to DNC.
For these reasons, a section of buyers and sellers are now more interested in collecting 'Ice' than Yaba pills. They say that a group of seven or eight people control the trade of 'Ice' in the capital.
Investigators found that 11 consignments of crystal meth were made from Myanmar and three from Malaysia in last eight months.
Of the consignments, eight were seized in Chattogram and Cox's Bazar, five in Dhaka and one in Pirojpur.
In 2019, Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested a youth named Hasib bin Mu'ammar Rashid who had been experimenting with the crystal meth to manufacture a new drug at his laboratory in Mohammadpur. Police said a Nigerian helped Hasib experiment with the drugs.
On August 17 this year, Detective Branch of DMP arrested nine others with
500 gm crystal meth and 63,000 pieces of Yaba from Dhaka's Mohammadpur and Jatrabari areas. Both of the consignments were smuggled from Myanmar.
"We are investigating the sudden rise of crystal meth's use in Bangladesh and its direct or indirect applications. The drug may also be consumed with the help of lead bars. Crystal meth is a popular drug in Myanmar," according to DB police.
Members of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in separate anti-drug operations detained 51 people on charges of selling and consuming drugs in the city.
The inflow of Yaba remains still unstoppable although a massive anti-narcotics crackdown beginning in May 2018 left nearly 550 people killed in so-called gunfights, 250 of whom were from Cox's Bazar alone before July 31 last year.
During this period, over one lakh people were arrested for their alleged involvement with the narcotics trade. In February last year, there was a "symbolic surrender" and arrest of 102 Yaba godfathers and top dealers in Cox's Bazar.
Officials claim that they have always undertaken a zero tolerance policy against narcotics trade and drives are on to stop this.
A high official of police headquarters told the Daily Observer that violence and an inclination towards unnatural sexual activities are also reported side effects of using Ice and Yaba along with rapid weight loss and aging in a short time.
Law enforcers fear that if smuggling cannot be prevented now, meth may become as widespread as Yaba.
"We are increasing surveillance to track down the marketplace of this drug since a virtual market has lately emerged as a result of our crackdown," he said .
