“At least four people, including three policemen, were injured in the gunfight.”
 
There was secret information that some smugglers were selling yaba in the district near the jail area on the bypass road in the district town, DB Officer-in-Charge Manjurul Alam said.
 
DB district sub-inspector Titu Datta from the district Detective Branch and yaba trader Nazrul Islam (31) were admitted to the Cox’s Bazar government hospital (Sadar Hospital) in critical condition, the DB official added.
 
A team of plainclothes police launched a drive in the area around 3am today.
 
When the police team challenged the yaba traders, the smugglers opened fire at them, prompting the law officers to fire back and leaving three policemen—including Mr. Titu—and yaba smuggler Nazrul injured, according to sources.
 
Nazrul is currently undergoing treatment for bullet injuries under police custody.
 
The DB team also recovered 2,050 yaba tablets, one short gun, and two rounds of cartridges from the scene, said a police aid.
 
Thousands of Yaba tablets have been smuggled into Bangladesh from Burma by different smuggling groups who live near the Burma-Bangladesh border, and the concerned authorities of Bangladesh haven’t been able to stop yaba smuggling, said a local trader on condition of anonymity.
 
Earlier, there was another gunfight between security forces and yaba smugglers at Teknaf, a town on the Bangladesh side of the Burma-Bangladesh border. Some people were killed and injured in the incident, including police. In response, Bangladesh has been cracking down on smugglers, with some smugglers have being shot dead and others imprisoned.
 
It’s very important for the two neighboring countries to cooperate in order to combat yaba smuggling, said a local leader from Teknaf who declined to be named.