Maungdaw, Arakan State: A special operation group has been monitoring drug inflow from upper Burma to northern Arakan since September 28, according to an officer from Maungdaw.

The special operation group comprises the Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC), Special Investigation Department (SID) and the Drug Enforcement Department, he added.

The group is now collecting information about flow of drugs from proper Burma to northern Arakan (Border area). They are trying to figure out how the drugs come and who the drug traffickers are, he added.

The special operation group searches places or homes in northern Arakan without warrant at any time. They tell all the family members to come out of the house. Then the group enters the house to search. If they find drugs they make arrests.  But, if the group does not get anything, they take away valuable items such as gold, money and even fancy items secretly, said a local elder from Maungdaw.

Actually, they are not arresting the real drug traffickers and distributors. They are just showing that they are searching for drugs and in turn harassing the people and traders where they are entering and taking public property without the knowledge of owners, the elder said.

If the operation group is really finding and destroying the network of drug inflow from proper Burma to the border area, they need to arrest those who are in high positions in the border government offices, said a school teacher from Maungdaw.

“Recently , a police officer was arrested for trafficking Yaba tablets to the border, but the real person is still operating his business, sitting in a high post in his office,” the teacher said.

The operation group cannot touch those who are the real drug traffickers in northern Arakan, the teacher added.