Sagar Biswas:Smuggling of intoxicating drugs, gold, arms-explosives, electronics and other items is going rampant through the borders along India and Myanmar despite increased vigilance by the law enforcing agencies. The Border Guard Bangladesh [BGB] seized various types of contraband, including a large quantity of intoxicating drugs, worth about Tk 787 crore conducting operation in different parts of the country from January to December last year.Of the seized narcotics, the quantity of intoxicating drug Yaba was 50, 56, 410 pieces. Besides, the para-military force also recovered 4,79,536 bottles of phensidyl, 10 kilograms of heroin, 6,92,887 pieces of sex stimulating tablets, 10,196 kilograms of marijuana and 55,480 ampoules of injections during the aforesaid period. Sources close to the BGB Headquarters said, Bangladesh is turning into one of main routes for smuggling Yaba, heroin and cocaine with the involvement of some local people who are working as members of international smuggling rackets. Referring to a global standard of estimation, they said the seized goods are only 5 to 10 percent of total smuggling goods that entered the country last year. The south eastern tourist district Cox’s Bazar has already turned into a sanctuary of contrabandists with hundreds of drug smugglers dealing in under the very nose of administration. The drug dealers earn a lucrative profit through sale of different types of drugs, especially a highly addictive mix of methamphetamine and caffeine — Yaba, smuggled into the country every day from the neighbouring Myanmar, they said.Yaba, which is known in Asia as the ‘madness drug,’ or in the West as ‘Nazi speed,’ first developed by Hitler’s scientists to keep soldiers fighting for days, has now become major concern for the Bangladesh government.”A few years ago, the Yaba traffickers used land routes around the Naaf River, which runs across the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, to smuggle the drug into the country. But due to increased vigilance by the anti-smuggling teams on the land routes, the smugglers now prefer the Karnaphuli estuary and the Bay of Bengal for safe passage of their items,” said Colonel M Anisur Rahman, Commander of BGB in Cox’s Bazar.He said, the smugglers mostly use fishermen and trawlers to bring in supplies of Yaba.The intoxicating drug cocaine is also another big concern for Bangladesh authorities. The security officials were stunned after the haul of 10 kilograms of cocaine at Bangladesh-India border on October 30 last year. Earlier in May last year, the largest consignment of cocaine, estimated to be around 120 kgs, was seized at the Chittagong Port. Besides, several other consignments of cocaine was also seized at different times the same year.Meanwhile, the smuggling of gold is also increasing in Bangladesh day by day. Intelligence officials have claimed that Bangladesh is becoming a hub for gold smuggling, with an ever-increasing number of criminals caught trying to move bullion into neighbouring India. Apart from other agencies, the BGB last year alone recovered 22.33 kilograms gold and 33 idols of touchstone from different parts of the country. “Country’s three international airports have seen a big rise in illegal gold movement, with smugglers frequently caught red-handed,” Mainul Hossain Khan, Director General of Customs Intelligence, said.”Gold seizures in the Airports have become a daily affair. Gold smuggling in the region has risen largely due to India’s imposition of strict import duties on the yellow metal being brought into the country,” the Customs Intelligence Chief said.Not only that, the smuggling of illegal firearms has appeared as a big threat to security agencies. Members of the para-military force BGB alone recovered a huge quantity of firearms and ammunition from different parts of the country last year. Of the seized arms, there were 67 pistols, 40 single barrel guns, 29 IED [improvised explosive device], 54 different types of bombs and cocktails and 44.90 kilograms of gunpowder, said a press release issued by BGB on Sunday.
