700,000 yaba seized; listed drug dealer held

The Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Cox's Bazar arrested a listed drug dealer along with three of his associates and recovered 700,000 yaba pills from their possession early yesterday.

"The yaba pills were being transported in a luxurious sports utility vehicle (SUV) with a government office sticker. Rab members intercepted the SUV and recovered the contraband drugs on the Cox's Bazar–Teknaf Marine Drive at Patuatek area under Jaliapalang union of Ukhiya upazila," said Major Shriful Ahsan, second in command of Rab 15, at a press briefing yesterday afternoon.

The arrestee, Abdul Ameen, 42, whose name was on the home ministry's list of narcotics traders, had surrendered to police in 2020.

Other arrestees were Mohammad Abdullah, son of Teknaf Sadar union chairman aspirant Abu Syed, his brother-in-law Zafar Alam, and one Nurul Absar of Teknaf's Dailpara area.

The SUV with a Roads and Highways Department sticker belongs to Abdullah's father Abu Syed and was used for drug trafficking, Rab official said, adding that the drug consignment was supplied from Myanmar by one Baraiya Siraj through the sea route.