The Border Guard Bangladesh has seized 21 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice, which is reportedly the biggest bust of the drug in the country's history.
The BGB detained “Yaba Godfather” Buzrukh and two of his associates along with the drug near the Balukhali border in Cox's Bazar at midnight on Tuesday, BGB public relations officer Md Shariful Islam said early Wednesday.
BGB Sector Commander Colonel Mehedi Hossain Kabir held a press conference at the Cox's Bazar BGB Battalion Headquarters on Wednesday afternoon.
BGB Cox's Bazar Battalion Commander Lt Col Saiful Islam Chowdhury was present at this time.
He said the recovered shipment of crystal meth was intended to be smuggled to different parts of the country after being stored at a Rohingya camp in Ukhiya.
The BGB commander said that at 12:30am, a BGB team conducted an operation on the information of a large shipment of drugs being smuggled from Myanmar through the South Rahmat Bill border area of Palangkhali union of Ukhiya Upazila.
At one point at 4:30am, the BGB members saw around seven people coming from the Myanmar side crossing the Basta Kadhe river on foot through the Parabon.
When the BGB team signalled them to stop, they threw away the two small sacks and tried to run away.
However, they managed to detain three people.
The two other arrestees are Md Ismail, 23, and Md Syedul Bashar, 40.
The crystal meth was found in the sacks.
The BGB officer said that the large consignment of drugs was stockpiled in the Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya to smuggle in small consignments to different parts of the country.
A case has been filed with Ukhiya police station in this connection.
According to law enforcement, just 10 grams of ice can fetch up to Tk1 lakh.
Crystal meth, a dangerously addictive stimulant, despite its steep prices, has become fairly popular among the youth in Bangladesh, especially in Dhaka.
Going by a slew of street names, the lab-developed drug methamphetamine (a primary component in yaba) targets the central nervous system and produces an instantly elevated, euphoric effect that, according to experts, is much stronger than cocaine.
People familiar with the matter say it is often a case of curiosity that leads Bangladeshi youngsters to experiment with the highly addictive drug.
Law enforcement says youths from affluent families have so far been the main consumers due to its high price point and to “bring about a change in their drug habits.”
