Yaba
Tk 1.5 crore worth Burmese Yaba recovered in Cox’s Bazar
BGB members on Tuesday recovered 50,000 pieces of Burmese yaba worth Tk 1.5 crore from Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhia upazila.
On basis of a tip-off on drugs being smuggled from Myanmar, members of Ghumdhum BOP under BGB's Cox's Bazar Battalion took up strategic position at the 5th Palangkhali UP costoms intersection turn of Ukhia.
READ: RAB apprehends trio with over 65,000 Yaba pills
At around 7 pm, yaba smugglers realizing the presence of the BGB patrol and anticipating the possibility of arrest, started firing at the patrol team. When the patrol team retaliated by firing on the smugglers, they dropped the bags and fled to Myanmar through the dense jungle, said a BGB media release.
READ: 7.8 lakh yaba pills seized from St Martin's, but culprits escape
Later from those bags 50,000 pieces of Burmese yaba worth Tk 1.5 crore was recovered.
Appropriate legal action is being taken in this regard, said the release.
RAB apprehends trio with over 65,000 Yaba pills
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three alleged drug dealers along with 65,105 yaba pills hidden inside Betel leaf (paan) from Shyampur area of the capital on early Sunday.
The arrestees were identified as Mohammad Ayub, 35, Abdus Shukkur, 54, and Md Amir Hossain, 65.
The elite force had secret information that a group of organized drug dealers were stationed in the area adjacent to Postagola Fire Service under Shyampur Police Station with a huge consignment of contraband Yaba pills brought from the border districts hidden inside betel leaves.
Read: 3 drug peddlers held with 50,000 yaba pills
60,000 Yaba pills seized in Cox's Bazar
Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday seized 60,000 Yaba pills during a drive at Palangkhali UP No. 5 in Ukhia upazila of Cox's Bazar district.
Tipped-off, a team of BGB Battalion-34 of Cox’s Bazar conducted a drive in the area in the early hours of Thursday while some Yaba traders were entering Bangladesh from Myanmar, said a press release.
Also read: Man held with Yaba pills in stomach at Dhaka airport
When the BGB men challenged the Yaba traders, they fled the scene abandoning a bag containing the contraband pills on the spot.
Later, the BGB men recovered 60,000 Yaba pills worth TK 1.80 crore from the bag.
Also read: 3 arrested in city with 40,000 pcs of yaba
'Drug peddler’ killed in Cox’s Bazar gunfight
A suspected drug peddler was killed in a reported gunfight with the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday night.
The deceased was identified as Jahangir Alam.
Read: ‘Drug peddler’ killed in ‘gunfight’ with BGB in Cox’s Bazar
Acting on a tip-off, a RAB-15 team raided the Jaliapalong area in Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar district around 8.30 pm, said commanding officer Wing Commander Azim Ahmed on Thursday.
When the elite force confronted the alleged drug peddler, he opened fire in a bid to escape, but was killed in retaliatory firing by the RAB team.
The RAB personnel seized 10,000 pieces of Yaba, a revolver and three bullets from the possession of the deceased.
Hello yaba, hello liquor, hello Bangladesh
Every time there is a police raid, bottles of foreign liquor, yaba tablets and other sundry items are found. Having them are criminal acts but one wonders how many well off and even not so well off homes have them. In a country, where the police have to say that anyone who fails the dope test will be sacked means it is more pervasive than we can even think.
We have around 10-15 million drugs including yaba addicts most people estimate. It’s an entirely smuggling based sector that has grown so large that we don’t even know how big it is. Millions make their money from the many income sources , both ferrying on protection. And yes, almost every social segment is involved. That was the point Sinha was trying to make and he paid with his life. This is big business and the deals are in the million dollar level so the crime part is small compared to the economic one.
Also read: Man held with 9k Yaba pills at Dhaka airport
How old is yaba ?
Yaba arrived in Bangladesh in 2000 and then slowly took off. It’s basically methamphetamine but has since arrival thrived. Initially it was in competition with phensedyl but the India produced cough syrup slowly over time lost the market and yaba from Myanmar took over. It’s much easier to smuggle in, carry and sell so naturally a winner. The result is the yaba explosion, in growth terms probably much bigger than the rmg sector. Bangladesh is simultaneously a transit and destination country of the drug trafficking network.
Yaba flows despite Bangladesh’s war on drugs because killing a few hundred street traders is considered good news because hundreds more are ready to join. And the business is a business of the influential. So though a few may die, the trade is not affected at all. Each Yaba pill is sold for around 100- 300 . Estimates vary.
The Narcotics Control Bill in Oct 2018 which sort of made encounter killings halal along with other punishments has not worked. The smugglers have always been smarter and following alternative routés are easy in a country bordering very difficult terrains. It’s not just Mtyanmar which traditionally supplies but India is a route too now. Yaba is now coming in larger quantities from India, through the Kurigram District located in north Bangladesh. From the sea route, smugglers use the southern districts mostly Patuakhali to push the drugs in.
Also read: SI of PBI held with Yaba
But yaba is a socio-economic issue not a law enforcement one
It provides an easy if risky life for many unable or unwilling to enter the labour market. The addiction often begins much earlier as “youth gangs” have become great introducers of yaba to children. For many it’s also a high income no matter how risky.
The consumers come from all levels so it has a broad market. If Dhaka is full of fancy clubs, kids have clubs too and many are doing the same. If dinghy clubs are supplying foreign liquor, kids clubs supply foreign yaba.
Neither the liquor nor the tablet that is making so much media noise can impact on the drug economy, the narco trade is bigger than ever. And maybe the capacity to control is limited too. For some it really is no problem, after all you make money and you can get a high so who cares?
5 criminals including TikTok Hridoy’s aide held in city
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Monday detained five criminals including one of the top aides of TikTok Hridoy Babu from Hatirjheel area of the capital.
The arrestees are Anik Hasan alias Hero Anik, 25, a listed criminal in Moghbazar area, Shahidul Islam Empul, 34, Abir Ahmed Rakib, 22, Shohagh Hossain Arif, 36 and Heera, 22.
Tipped off, a team of Rab conducted a drive in Hatirjheel area on Sunday midnight and arrested them.
READ: TikTok out-of-control: Teen goes for shoot, gets raped
The elite force members also recovered bullets, one foreign made pistol, one magazine, five sharp weapons,300 Yaba tablets, seven mobile phone sets and Tk 3400 cash.
Anik was wanted in nine criminal cases including that of drug and robbery and a group of 20-25 members worker under him, said a press release of Rab headquarters..
The gang has been involved in establishing supremacy in Hatirjheel, Moghbazar, Madhubagh, Mirbagh, Peyarabagh, Natun Rasta, Chairman Goli and Aam Bagan area and mugging belongings from the visitors at Hatiejheel.
Tik Tok Hridoy came to media list after a case filed over the alleged rape and torture of a Bangladeshi woman by fellow countrymen in India.
A case was filed against Hridoy with Hatirjheel Police Station on May 28.
Earlier it was reported that police in India’s Bengaluru arrested five Bangladeshis — four men and a woman — for allegedly raping and torturing a woman believed to be from Bangladesh.
READ: Biden backs off on TikTok ban in review of Trump China moves
The arrests were made after Assam police shared visuals from a video circulating on social media to trace the accused, reports the Hindustan Times.
The video showed five people, including a woman, subjecting another woman to physical abuse and torture. Bengaluru city police promptly traced and arrested them.
“As per the information revealed so far, all of them are part of the same group and believed to be from Bangladesh,” Bengaluru police Commissioner Kamal Pant told Hindustan Times.
Due to financial disputes, the culprits brutalized the victim, who is also said to be a Bangladeshi, brought to India for human trafficking, he said.
SI of PBI held with Yaba
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) detained a sub-inspector of Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) along with 11,560 Yaba pills from Bhellapara in Karnaphuli area of Chattogram.
The detainee was identified as Mohammad Masud Rana, who was serving as sub-inspector of Cox’s Bazar PBI.
READ: IU staff suspended after being arrested with yaba pills
During a regular check at Bhellapara check-post, the elite force intercepted a car on Sunday and detained Masud along with 11,560 pieces of Yaba tablets, said Dulal Mahmud, officer-in-charge of Karnaphuli Police Station.
Later, he was handed over to Karnaphuli Police Station early Monday.
A case was filed against him under Narcotics Control Act.
IU staff suspended after being arrested with yaba pills
The Islamic University (IU) in Kushtia Saturday suspended a staff member after police arrested him with 89 yaba pills near the campus on May 24.
The suspended official Bakul Joarder is a computer operator of the Bangladesh Cadet Corps office of the university, the IU acting registrar M Ataur Rahman said. "IU Vice-Chancellor Professor Shaikh Abdus Salam issued the suspension order against Bokul after he was sent to jail through a court order."
Bakul was suspended under the university's employee efficiency and disciplinary act, Ataur added.
On May 30, 2017, he was suspended for the same reason after being arrested with 200 yaba pills.
4 held with 44,000 yaba pills in Dhaka
Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police on Sunday arrested four members of a narcotics ring with 44,000 pieces of contraband yaba pills from the capital's Khilgaon.
The arrestees were identified as Md Sujon, 30, Md Mosharaf Hossain, 40, Md Ashraf Ali, 26, and Md Jahirul Islam, 31.
Also read: RAB arrests drug dealers, recovers yaba, hemp
Policemen nabbed the four from the Banashree area during a drive and also seized a truck, used for carrying narcotics, from them, said Assistant Commissioner of DB Madhusudan Das.
"A case has been filed with Khilgaon Police Station in connection with the incident," he added.
Also read: Bangladesh Coast Guard seizes 30,000 yaba pills in Teknaf
"The arrestees would transport yaba pills to Dhaka from Cox's Bazar in a special chamber created on the roof of the driving seat of the truck," Madhusudan said.
RAB arrests drug dealers, recovers yaba, hemp
Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested five alleged drug peddlers and recovered 6,250 pieces yaba pills and 20 kgs hemp from the city’s Jatrabari area in two separate raids on Saturday.
The arrestees were identified as-- Md. Nurul Alam (52), Md. Jasim Uddin Ahmed (35), Md. Helal (27), b. Md. Shah Jalal (22), c. Md. Rajiv Talukder (29).
Based on secret information, a team of Rab-2 battalion started surveillance and set up a check post at Dakshin Kajla of North Duniya Biswa Road in jatrabari at around 6:30 am as the elite force came to know that a group of drug dealers was coming to Jatrabari area from the border area via Chittagong.
Also read: 51 arrested in DMP anti-drug operations
When Md. Nurul Alam and Md. Jasim Uddin Ahmed were about to passing the check-post, the elite force members challenged them and found 6,250 pieces Yaba pills searching their bodies at around 7:20 am.