Bangladeshi force seizes $1.3M worth drugs along Myanmar border

By SM Najmus Sakib

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – The Bangladesh border force confiscated narcotics consignments worth over 130 million Bangladeshi taka (approximately $1.3 million) along the border with Myanmar on Saturday, officials said.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel recovered the drugs in two separate searches in Teknaf area on the southeast coast of Cox's Bazar district along the Myanmar border, said Lt Col Faizur Rahman, the force's director (operations).

Two smugglers managed to enter the country before midnight by crossing the Naf River from Myanmar but had to swim back after being chased by border security personnel, said a BGB statement.

They left behind a plastic bag containing 2.12 kilograms of crystal meth ice and 30,000 pills of contraband known locally as Yaba.

The Naf River is the only international river that flows through Bangladesh and Myanmar, dividing the two countries.

The security forces also confiscated another consignment of 50,000 Yaba tablets in a similar manner, according to the statement, with the contraband from the two seizures valued at $1.3 million.

The drug prices are determined in accordance with the guidelines of the Department of Narcotics Control, which decides worth after evaluating the international and local markets using their own mechanism, Lt-Col Rahman told Anadolu Agency in response to a question on how the value of narcotics is determined.

Earlier on Thursday, the border security forces recovered 50,000 Yaba tablets at the Haikong checkpoint in Teknaf area, the statement said.

The forces could not apprehend anyone since suspected smugglers on a motorcycle fled the area as soon as they were signaled to stop.