Yaba tablets are being smuggled into Bangladesh from India through the Sylhet border using coded slang and increasingly sophisticated concealment tactics, with the Jaintiapur–Bianibazar route emerging as a key transit corridor for trafficking networks, according to local sources and law enforcement.
Law enforcers and local residents say traffickers operating along the Zakiganj border with India use coded terms such as “beej”, “button” and “maal” to refer to Yaba in open communication, allowing them to conduct transactions and coordinate shipments without drawing suspicion. What appears to be ordinary conversation often conceals an organised illegal drug trade worth millions of taka.
Despite regular drives by police and other security agencies leading to arrests and seizures, key figures behind the networks largely remain beyond reach, raising concerns about the resilience of the trafficking chain.
Cross-border corridor under scrutiny
Locals say a significant stretch of the approximately 53-kilometre border in Zakiganj has effectively turned into a “safe corridor” for drug trafficking. The area from the Birosree Union zero point to the Kaskanakpur Union is reportedly being used to move Yaba consignments into Bangladesh.
Residents claim that while smuggling of onions, cosmetics and other goods has long drawn attention, Yaba trafficking has remained relatively hidden in comparison, enabling organised syndicates to consolidate their operations.
Fishermen disguise and river routes
Investigations suggest traffickers are employing unconventional methods to move Yaba across the border. According to multiple sources, smugglers often disguise themselves as fishermen during the day, entering river channels to collect consignments from across the border.
In some cases, packages containing Yaba are reportedly wrapped and floated across the river from the Indian side, to be retrieved by associates in Bangladesh after identification through pre-arranged signals.
At night, trafficking is carried out through multiple methods, including swimming across the river, using small boats, or exploiting gaps in border fencing. Once inside Bangladesh, the consignments are temporarily stored in selected houses in border villages.
Bianibazar emerging as transit hub
After crossing the border, Yaba consignments are first handed over to local couriers before being transferred to representatives of larger syndicates at different points in Bianibazar.
From there, the drugs are reportedly transported to other districts across the country, often hidden inside passenger buses, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and other public transport, with couriers posing as ordinary travellers.
Sources say traffickers frequently change routes, clothing and couriers when risk increases, making detection difficult even when intelligence inputs are available.
Couriers arrested, ringleaders elusive
Law enforcement operations in Zakiganj and Bianibazar over the past month have led to multiple seizures of Yaba.
On 13 June, Bianibazar police recovered 9,000 yaba tablets from a passenger bus at a checkpoint in Panjipuri area under Dubag Union and arrested one person.
On 15 June, Detective Branch of police seized 1,000 Yaba tablets and a motorcycle during an operation in Shahjalalpur area under Manikpur Union in Zakiganj. Two couriers managed to flee the scene.
On 25 June, police recovered 1,900 Yaba tablets from the Zakiganj–Sheola road in Kholachora Union. Most recently, on 29 June, another 400 Yaba tablets were seized from Khashera area under Manikpur union in Zakiganj.
Police officials said those arrested in these operations were couriers, not the main organisers of the trafficking networks.
Police vow continued crackdown
Sylhet Superintendent of Police Dr Chowdhury Mohammad Zaber Sadeque said law enforcement agencies are maintaining a strict stance against narcotics.
“We have adopted the highest level of strictness against drugs. Last month alone, 10,000 Yaba tablets were seized from Zakiganj and 9,000 from Bianibazar,” he said.
He added that both couriers and members of trafficking networks are being arrested, and surveillance has been intensified on listed drug dealers.
“We are not only arresting carriers; those involved in the trade are also being brought under law. Monitoring of identified drug traders is ongoing,” he said.
Authorities say efforts are continuing to dismantle the wider network as border surveillance is tightened, even as traffickers adapt their methods to evade detection.
