672,000 yaba tablets seized along Ukhiya border

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has seized 672,000 yaba tablets during an operation along the Ukhiya border in Cox’s Bazar.

The drugs were recovered from the Anjumanpara-Faisakhali area of Ukhiya late Wednesday (August 19), according to BGB.

The suspected smugglers fled the scene after abandoning five sacks, and subsequent searches in the surrounding area failed to locate them.

According to Ukhiya Battalion (64 BGB), a special patrol team from the Balukhali and Palongkhali Border Outposts spotted the movements of several suspected individuals in the area at around 9:30pm.

Using thermal imaging equipment, BGB personnel detected seven to eight people crossing into Bangladesh from Myanmar. When the patrol team challenged them, the suspects dropped five sacks and fled towards a nearby village.

A search of the sacks led to the recovery of 672,000 yaba tablets packed in blue airtight packets and concealed inside khaki-coloured packages.

BGB said no other illegal items were found during further searches in the area.

Ukhiya Battalion Commander Lt Col Zahirul Islam said intelligence surveillance had been intensified to identify and bring those involved in the yaba smuggling under the law.

"Anti-narcotics and anti-smuggling operations will continue along the border," he said.