Because of heightened surveillance on roads by law enforcement agencies, smugglers are now using lesser monitored rivers to transport the drug from deep sea border areas.
In late 2015, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) discovered a new route being used off the Bay of Bengal by smugglers, using fishing ships in offshore and coastal ports.
The elite force in separate drives recovered 4.5 to 20 hundred thousand yaba tablets between 2016 and 2017.
Even though such drives have been a deterrent, along with the war on drugs campaign where 102 yaba dealers surrendered in Teknaf on Saturday, locals question if that would indeed curb the level of yaba coming into the country.
Some even pointed out that fishing boats that carry consignments from deep sea ports into the rivers to reach Barisal, Dhaka, and Bhola, can also be used because of a lack of radar detection equipment.
They were not wrong. It turns out many law enforcement officials did not refute the fact that this is actually happening, saying that they have information about smugglers using fish market river ports to offload yaba, sometimes using salt to hide the drug scent from police dogs.
High officials from Cox's Bazar district police said yaba traders are using two new routes: Whaikhyang in Teknaf, and Thaingkhali in Ukhia, to bring in the pills from Myanmar.
During the refugee influx in August, September of 2017, Whaikhyang in Teknaf was one of the entry points for the Rohingyas to enter Bangladesh.
Another district police source confirmed that they have recommended increasing naval patrols at deep sea points, Malayshil channel, south of Saint Martin which is three hours away, to intercept yaba shipments to Bangladesh.
Law enforcement sources said ships that come from Myanmar to Chittagong port bribe fishing boats with large sums of cash at the deep sea port to transport drugs through the rivers and into ports.
“These boats go from the southern coastal belt and spread all over the country,” the source added.
When contacted, Cox's Bazar Additional SP, Iqbal Hossain, said they have already gathered information about this new route from the yaba dealers who surrendered.
“Because this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot give you details about these routes,” he said.
Coast Guard sees an exponential rise
High officials in the Coast Guard said they have a huge rise in yaba being transported in a year. In 2017 they seized 30,53,547 yaba pills, while in 2018, the number rose to 94,45,020 pills.
They seized some 70,600 yaba pills in the month of January alone this year, when drug dealers began to surrender in Cox's Bazar.
A Coast Guard official seeking anonymity said: “Yaba traders are using fishing boats and ships carrying salt to hide their goods.”
“They unload their supply at four places: Patharghata river port at Barguna, Mahipur river port at Kuakata in Patuakhali, Bhola, and areas adjacent to Dhaka (depending on demand), from where they supply the drugs throughout the country,” the sources added.
The sources said it is difficult to check boats or ships without having all the information because it is illegal to stop all boats and check them without proof.
When contacted, Assistant Director (Intelligence) of Coast Guard, Lieutenant Commander M Hamidul Islam, said they are well aware of the situation in the coastal and river route areas. They are taking measures for coordinated action in this regard.
“We have already started working with the River Police unit and will contact RAB and local police so a coordinated effort can be made to prevent this from happening,” he said.
Law enforcement officials have also said: “They chose these routes because of three reasons: lack of surveillance, lack of a radar and monitoring system, and it is also an easy escape route,” adding that there are a lot of unregistered boats they use so they cannot be tracked either.
Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) Director General, Jamal Uddin Ahmed, said it is common for drug dealers to keep searching for new routes when old ones are found out.
“Not only sea and river routes; they keep switching it up with using air routes or another country’s territory for smuggling,” he said.
“Last year, a committee was formed consisting of representatives from different forces to combat drug trafficking who are now working in a coordinated effort in the drive against drugs,” he said.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, on Saturday, said steps have been taken to modernize the Coast Guard so that yaba cannot enter the country through the waterways.
