Bangladesh Coast Guard has seized yaba tablets worth nearly Tk19.5 crore in two separate operations in Cox’s Bazar and arrested five drug traffickers.
Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujan confirmed the information on Friday afternoon.
He said the first operation was based on intelligence about a large shipment of yaba being smuggled in a covered van through Shah Porir Dwip in Teknaf.
The Coast Guard intercepted the van near Boraitoli Road along the Naf River and conducted a search.
Officers discovered approximately 3.3 lakh yaba tablets, valued at around Tk16.5 crore, hidden in a specially constructed secret compartment under the van’s floor.
Sahadat Hossain, also known as Sakib, was arrested in connection with the seizure. He is from Chauddagram Upazila of Cumilla district. His father’s name is Mannan.
In the second operation, authorities, acting on intelligence that a shipment was entering Bangladesh from Myanmar via the Naf River, intensified surveillance.
Late at night, a fishing boat was stopped near Shah Porir Dwip in the coastal waters.
A search of the boat recovered around 60,000 yaba tablets, worth approximately Tk3 crore. Four drug traffickers were arrested during the operation.
Among those arrested is Mohammad Yasin, 35, a Rohingya citizen and son of Sultan from Shalbagan Refugee Camp in Teknaf.
The others are Ismail, 22, son of Mokbul Ahmed; Gias Uddin, 32, son of Lal Mohammed; and his brother, Jasim Uddin, 34, all residents of Ward 7 in Hazmapara, Teknaf.
The Coast Guard said the yaba tablets, the fishing boat, and the covered van have been seized.
Legal action has been initiated against the suspects, and anti-drug operations in the border and coastal areas continue.
