Around nine suspected yaba traders have been killed in nine days in an anti-drug drive in Cox’s Bazar.
The suspects were killed in the time period of January 4 (Friday) to January 12 (Saturday).
Of them, two died in a gunfight with police, two with RAB, two with BGB, and three of them were found with bullet injuries. Law enforcement agencies claimed all of them were yaba traders, and recovered a huge amount of yaba and arms.
Several drugs, terrorism and extortion cases were filed against every one of them. Their names are on the list made by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
According to the information from police, on January 4, body of Sajjad Hossain Imran, 24, was recovered from Cox's Bazar–Teknaf Marine Drive road. Police believe he died in a gunfight between two rival gangs.
Bodies of Khairul Amin, 35, and Abdullah, 37, were recovered from Teknaf upazila on January 5.
On January 8, Hafizur Rahman, 35, and Sabbir Hossain, 25, were killed in a gunfight with RAB (Rapid Action Battalion) in Teknaf upazila. RAB 7 recovered 40,000 yaba tablets, a revolver, a one shooter gun, and a covered van.
On January 9, Jahangir Alam’s body was found from Cox’s Bazar town, and police recovered 200 yaba tablets and a local gun from the site.
On January 10, Abdur Rashid, 47, and Abul Kalam, 35, were killed in a gunfight with police on Teknaf upazila. Some five local guns and 22,000 yaba tablets were recovered from the spot. Three police members were injured in the incident.
Police claimed both are yaba traders enlisted in the list provided by Ministry of Home Affairs.
Lastly, on December 12, two suspected yaba traders were killed by BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) while crossing the Naf river in Teknaf. BGB claimed huge numbers of yaba tablets were recovered from them.
Their identity has not been determined yet, while locals claim they were citizens of Myanmar.
Teknaf 2 BGB Commander Lieutenant Colonel Md Asadud Zaman told the Dhaka Tribune: “The two deceased swam into Bangladesh through Naf river from Myanmar. At that time, the on-duty BGB members on the border fired at them.
Later, they called the Teknaf police after searching the crime scene; police then recovered the body and seized the yaba tablets from spot.
Teknaf police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Pradip Kumar Das said: “The people who were killed in Teknaf were yaba traders. We will continue our anti-drug drive to eliminate drugs and narcotics from the country.”
RAB 7 Cox’s Bazar camp Company Commander Major Mehedi Hasan said: “The drug traders are enemies of the society, which is why they need to be stopped. We will continue the drive to eradicate drugs in the districts. Besides, apart from drug traders, pirates and terrorists are also brought to justice.”
Around 1152 suspected yaba traders in Cox’s Bazar were mentioned in the list created by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Prime Minister’s Office a year back. Among them, 912 were from Teknaf.
After the prime minister’s announcement of eliminating drugs from Bangladesh, law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh, including in Cox’s Bazar, started to conduct anti-drug drives.
However, the drug trading business has yet to cease, resulting to the socially aware locals to demand that Bangladesh should be made free from drugs and narcotics.
