Big yaba haul in Cox’s Bazar

Hired by yaba smugglers, some Rohingyas in the guise of fishermen are bringing in the crazy pills and charging Tk 1 for each tablet.

Their syndicate, having at least 15 members, has recently been identified. It carries the pills to Dhaka through different routes, including road and air.

Rab revealed the information after arresting a Rohingya man in possession of around 8 lakh yaba pills in Cox’s Bazar, a bordering district with Myanmar, on Sunday night.

The elite force said it was the largest yaba haul in the district in recent times.

The arrestee was identified as Jamal Hossain, 32, of Rohingya camp-22, in Teknaf.

Maj Rabiul Islam, deputy director of Rab-15, said Jamal was held after a Rab team, acting on a tip-off, raided an area near Inani beach around 11:30pm.

Based on information gleaned from him, the Rab members found the yaba tablets in a bush nearby, he said.

Rabiul said six people, including Jamal, brought in the pills from Myanmar. The five of the six, including Bangladeshis, are yet to be arrested.

“We have learnt the six were supposed to get Tk 6 lakh each for smuggling the tablets into Bangladesh,” the official told The Daily Star yesterday.

“The syndicate has at least 15 members and the destination of the pills was Dhaka,” he said, without revealing information about the other syndicate members for the sake of the investigation.

The Rab official also said Jamal during primary interrogation confessed that he had brought in eight to nine yaba consignments and received Tk 1 for each tablet.

Maj Rabiul said the syndicate used different modes of transport, including road and air, for taking yaba tablets to the capital.

“We would be able to give you more information on the consignments after the arrest of the other members,” he said.

He also said a case was filed with Ukhia police station in connection with the recovery. “Rab would investigate the matter.”

Asked how yaba smuggling was continuing amid the ongoing anti-narcotics drive, the official said they were trying their best to check the crime. The situation is improving, he claimed.

Just six days ago, Border Guards Bangladesh recovered 4.30 lakh yaba pills in Teknaf.

No one, however, could be arrested.

Police database show 170 people, including 44 Rohingyas, were killed in “gunfights” since May 4, the day law enforcers launched a nationwide anti-narcotics drive.

Two of the Rohingyas were women, the data show.