4 ‘yaba traders’ killed in Cox’s Bazar ‘gunfights’

Four alleged yaba traders were killed in separate "gunfights" with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and police in Cox's Bazar's Teknaf upazila early yesterday.

Of the incidents, three people -- supposedly from the Rohingya community -- were killed in an alleged gunfight with BGB.

They were smuggling yaba into the country, said BGB and police officials.

On information that a big yaba consignment was going to be smuggled into Bangladesh, a team of BGB took position on the bank of Naf river in Hnila union, said Lt Col Faisal Hassan Khan, commanding officer (CO) of Teknaf-2 BGB Battalion.

Around 4:00am, BGB men signalled a boat carrying around five people on board, the CO said.

Sensing the presence of law enforcers, the people on the boat opened fire on the border guards injuring three officials, Lt Col Faisal said.

In self-defence, BGB retaliated, triggering the "gunfight", he added.

At one stage, the miscreants tried to escape the scene, leaving the boat behind, the BGB official said.

Three were found at a nearby an orchard with bullet wounds, he added.

After primary treatment at Teknaf Upazila Health Complex, they were sent to Cox's Bazar General Hospital, where the on-duty doctor declared them dead, the CO said.

Their identities could not be known, the CO said, adding they might have been from the Rohingya community.

Around 180,000 yaba pills, two locally-made firearms, two rounds of ammunition and a sharp weapon were recovered from the spot, he said.

Meanwhile, another yaba trader, identified as Musa Akbar, 36, was killed in a gunfight with police around 4:00am in Whykong union, said Pradip Kumar Das, officer-in-charge (OC) of Teknaf Police Station.

Musa, a resident of the union's Kharaingyaghona area, was accused in several cases, including narcotics, the OC claimed.  

Two sharp weapons and 15,000 yaba pills were recovered from the spot, he said, adding that three police men were also injured in the gunfight.