Law enforcers seized two large consignments of contraband yaba tablets and arrested four people from Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas of the district in last two days.
A total of 43,550 pills, worth about Tk 1 crore in Cox’s Bazar and almost Tk 3 crore in the capital, were recovered in a span of just 10 hours, said Rab and police.On Friday around 11:30pm, a team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested three men along with 27,550 yaba tablets from Ukhia bus stand area acting on a tip off.
The men were carrying the pills in their clothes, said Commanding Officer of Rab-7 Major Sarwar-e-Alam.
The arrestees were identified as Mohibullah, 24, son of Mohammad Hossain of Paschimpara village, Borhan Uddin, 28, son of Nurul Islam of Leda village, and Saleh Ahmed, 38, son of Waz Uddin of Rangikhali village under Teknaf upazila.
They had later been handed over to Ukhia police. A case has been lodged with the police station in this connection.
In another drive yesterday around 9:30am, police seized 16,000 pieces of yaba tablets from a custom-made box of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) in Naitangpara area near Teknaf town.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Teknaf Police Station Mohammand Farhad said the SUV had plunged into a roadside canal as it lost control while being chased by the law enforcers.
It had three passengers, but police could arrest only the injured driver as the other two had managed to escape, added the OC.
A case has been filed with Teknaf police in this connection.
Every month, a large quantity of yaba tablets is brought in the country from Myanmar. The factories were reported to be located in Arakan, Mongdu and Akiab states of the country.
Sources in law enforcement agencies said the recovered tablets had been brought into Bangladesh a few days ago. They were being transported to Chittagong to have them distributed to different parts of the country, including Dhaka.
At least four syndicates — three based in Dhaka, Chittagong and Teknaf, and one in Myanmar — are involved in yaba smuggling, said the sources.
Previously, the contraband tablets used to be transported by roads — in buses, trucks, cars and other vehicles. But now they are smuggled using river and air ways.
An increasing number of population, especially the youth from well-off families, are the major victims of yaba addiction in the country.
According to the Department of Narcotics Control, a total of 19,51,392 yaba tablets were seized in 2012 while 13,60,186 pills were recovered in 2011; 8,12,716 in 2010; and 1,29,644 in 2009,.
-With The Daily Star input
