Six top yaba traders were killed and another 10 received gunshot wounds over the span of a month in crackdowns initiated after the State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan’s Cox’s Bazar visit, though three brothers of the Cox’s Bazar 4 lawmaker Abdur Rahman Bodi still remain at large.
The three – Md Abdul Shukkur, Moulavi Mujibur Rahman and Abdul Amin – have their names listed in the Home Ministry as top yaba traders.
Sources say the 2012 list of the Home Ministry contained names of 554 yaba traders while more than 1,200 names appeared on a recent list prepared by the BGB, RAB, police, different intelligence agencies and the Narcotics Control Department. Apart from Bodi’s three brothers, his brother-in-law Akhter Kamal, Shahed Kamal, uncle Haider Ali, cousin Kamrul Islam Rasel, nephew Nipu and several other relatives have also been listed as yaba traders.
The list has identified some of the accomplices of the lawmaker, including Md Rashed, son of former Awami League lawmaker Professor Md Ali; Nur Hossain, Teknaf upazila Jubo League general secretary and former upazila chairman; Zafar Ahmed, an Awami League leader and former chairman of Teknaf Sadar union; Ali Ahmed, Cox’s Bazar district Chhatra League president; Khurshida Karim and Abu Bakkar.
Most yaba pills produced in 37 factories, located in Mongdu, Myanmar, are being marketed in Bangladesh, according to sources. For a very long period, the pills have been being smuggled into Bangladesh through more than 50 channels in Cox’s Bazar. Apart from heightening patrol in the areas, BGB authorities have also taken initiatives to set up new camps.
“We have 23 camps in border areas and 15 new camps are being set up. Construction is proceeding fast as we have directives from the top administration to show zero tolerance for drugs,” Cox’s Bazar BGB Sector Commander Colonel Khandaker Farid Hasan told reporters.
Surveillance along the 54-kilometre border with Myanmar has been beefed up and yaba traders, no matter how powerful they are, will be brought to book, said Lt Col Md Abujar Al Jahid, Commander of Teknaf 42 BGB.
“The drive against drugs has been given the highest priority in accordance with the list from the Home Ministry. In addition to conducting drives, district police are being rearranged,” Additional Police Super of Cox’s Bazar Tofael Ahmed said.
Of the six traders killed in anti-yaba drives in the last month, Nur Mohammad was killed in a gunfight with RAB on March 20; Amin, Md Kalu and Jahir Ahmed in a gunfight with Coast Guard on April 25; and Jahed Hossain Jaku and Farid Alam in a gunfight with RAB and BGB on April 27.
Police, BGB and RAB personnel were also injured during the drives and nearly three lakh yaba pills were recovered.