The crazy drug combination of methamphetamine, Yaba, is still being smuggled from Myanmar despite the ongoing fierce fighting between Myanmar army and insurgents. Sounds of heavy gunfire and mortal shell send a wave of panic among residents along the border.
The smugglers have convinced a section of fishermen to venture deep into the sea and transport Yaba, and share a fraction of the profits based on the sizes of consignments, according to insiders. Police say most of the criminals involved with the sale of drugs including Yaba, are identified as Rohingyas.
Locals say as police and other law enforcers have beefed up security inside the camps, Rohingyas are now running away and staying at different places across Bangladesh.
The bordering areas of Coxs Bazar and Bandarban quite are often rocked by mortar shells some falling inside Bangladesh, but nothing could deter drug dealers in the coastal area from smuggling the pink pills from the neighbouring country.
Law enforcers claim Rohingyas are getting increasingly involved in the smuggling. They cross the border and bring in the crazy pills, which are then kept hidden in the refugee camps of Coxs Bazar, according to members of the police and intelligence agencies.
Members of the Border Guard Bangladesh seized 50,000 Yaba tablets from a border area at Teknaf in Coxs Bazar on April 14.
The Commanding Officer of the BGB-2 Lt Col Md Mahiuddin Ahmed confirmed it in a press release. He said that on information they came to know that a shipment of drugs from Myanmar might enter Bangladesh through Naf River.
BGB members challenged two suspected person, in a wooden boat, on the river on April 14. At one point, the smugglers escaped to Myanmar by jumping into the river.
Later, BGB members recovered 50,000 Yaba tablets from the boat. They also seized the boat The process of taking legal action was underway in this regard, said the BGB official.
Police recovered around 17 lakh Yaba pills and arrested around 450 people, mostly Rohingyas, for their involvement in the smuggling, a high officials of Cox Bazar police told the Daily observer.
"We have recovered around 70,000 pieces of Yaba in August and around 45,000 in September and the majority of smugglers were Rohingyas."
According of APBn-14, the unrest on the Myanmar side has hardly affected the Yaba smuggling. "We have recovered around 65,000 pieces of Yaba in August and around 40,000 in September and the majority of smugglers were Rohingyas," he said.
Rohingyas smuggle the pills from Myanmar and preserve those in the camps. In their latest strategy, the wholesalers sell Yaba to retailers on credit but hold one or two of the retailers hostage.
The Rapid Action Battalion on August 27 arrested around five members of a Rohingya criminal gang led by one Nobi Hossain, and recovered around 4.10 lakh pieces of Yaba from them.
Interrogating the arrested, RAB officials came to know that Nobis gang was selling Yaba on credit after holding people hostage as security. Official data show RAB has recovered around 89.74 lakh Yaba pills and arrested around 2,098 drug traders in the first eight months of this year.
Around 11.69 lakh Yaba were recovered by the elite force in August alone. In September, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered around 2.73 lakh Yaba in five big drives in Coxs Bazar and Bandarban, according to sources. From August 1 to October 15, Bangladesh Coast Guard recovered around 4.73 lakh Yaba and arrested around 16 people.
According to Coxs Bazar Coast Guard smugglers are adopting new techniques like moving on customised boats. "But we are on alert and taking action whenever we get any information," he added. According to the yearly report of the Department of Narcotics Control, Yaba is entering Bangladesh from Myanmar through 15 routes of Coxs Bazar and Bandarban.
It is difficult to control smuggling through these remote border areas. It added that Yaba is produced in factories in Shan and Cochin provinces of Myanmar.
