Bangladesh seizes drugs worth $1.12M on Myanmar border

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) - Bangladeshi border forces on Saturday seized a huge quantity of drugs worth $1.12 million in a raid along the border with neighboring Myanmar, said an official statement.

Acting on a tip, the southeastern coast Cox's Bazar border battalion arrested a person and seized 320,000 pieces of contaminated Burmese (Myanmar) Yaba pills worth 96 million taka ($1.125 million) in a pre-dawn border raid, said a battalion statement.

The raid was on a rickshaw boat near Ukhiya, considered a smuggling route between the two countries.

A criminal case is expected to be filed and anti-smuggling operations will continue, the statement added.

This year alone, the border battalion has seized a total of 3.37 million Burmese Yaba pills worth Taka 1.01 billion ($11.83 million), and arrested 161 people involved in drug smuggling, it said.

Thousands of people, particularly young Bangladeshis, have become hooked on red or pink Yaba pills in recent years, despite efforts against its use and smuggling. Yaba is a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine, and is said to be manufactured illicitly in Myanmar.