UNB, Dhaka :
The government is planning to conduct a special drive against suspected top drug peddlers who amassed huge wealth in a very short time by smuggling Yaba through Bangladesh-Myanmar border, said officials.
Sources at the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) told UNB that they have already tracked down the wealth accumulation by some suspected people and prepared a list, which will help the fresh anti-smuggling drive the Home Ministry is chalking out.
They noted that a number of people at Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar amassed wealth very quickly through illegal drug trading, and that the DNC have already prepared profiles of the drug traders along with their images.
DNC has already placed some recommendations to the Home Ministry to curb the Yaba smuggling, including steps against the suspected ringleaders through the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), they added.
Sources at the Home Ministry said, a high-profile monitoring committee comprising members of Police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Coast Guard, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and officials of different anti-narcotic organisations is expected to be formed in accordance with the recommendations put forward by the DNC.
The officials are of the view that smuggling and illegal trade of Yaba will begin to decrease significantly if action is taken against those suspected drug traders.
Besides taking action against the suspected individuals, the DNC recommendations include monitoring the movement of trawlers and fishermen from Myanmar in the Na’f River in Teknaf, bringing the trawlers under registration, formation of a special taskforce and reinforcing patrol along the porous border points, said the officials.
A file seeking approval for forming the committee has already been sent to the Home Minister and the Secretary, they added.
According to sources in law enforcement agencies, huge contraband Yaba tablets are smuggled into the country through different hilly border areas, including those of Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar and Naikhongchhari in Banbardan.
A gang engaged in Yaba smuggling has also been using river routes in the frontier areas for bringing the sex-stimulant tablets in the country for a long time, they informed.
When his attention was drawn to the matter, Home Ministry Siddiqur Rahman said hilly border areas are deemed as safe smuggling routes for smuggling Yaba.
He said, the ministry is now implementing the recommendations made by the officials of Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) to check the entry of the drug into the country.
DNC director general Ataur Rahman told UNB that the department officials with the help of law enforcers have taken effective measures in frontier districts, including Cox’s Bazar, to check Yaba trading.
He also said more mobile courts are being conducted against the drug traders and smugglers these days.
Abu Taleb, additional director of DNC Dhaka unit, said it is a challenge for the government to halt Yaba smuggling.
Ataur also noted pointed out that Yaba smuggling into the country can be checked through bilateral discussions between the two neighbouring countries.
He mentioned that a meeting between the DNC and its Myanmar counterpart was held in 2011 to discuss the issue of Yaba smuggling.
Another similar meeting between the two countries is likely to be held at the end of this month, he said, adding that regular talks with the Myanmar authorities through Foreign Ministry are also going on.
State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the government is going to take stern steps to stop the use of Yaba and its smuggling into the country.
Police, Rab and BGB will launch joint drives against the smuggling of the contraband tablet very soon, he said, adding that authorities concerned have been directed to increase drives in frontier areas.
According to the DNC, some 1,29,644 pieces of Yaba tablets were seized in 2009 while the figure was 8,12,716 in 2010, 10,76,125 in 2011, 21,34,395 in 2012 and 28,21,528 in 2013.
The DNC in 2013 filed 645 cases against 803 people on charge of selling and bringing the contraband tablet into the country.
