Teknaf, Bangladesh: A patrol team of the Bangladeshi Coast Guard seized a large amount of contraband Burmese liquor and Yaba methamphetamine pills worth about 8 million Taka in a drive at Nayapar Village of Sapran Union under Teknaf Upazila early yesterday, according to a Coast Guard official.
Acting on a tip-off, Coast Guard personnel of Teknaf conducted the drive on the River Naff at around 3:30 am, seizing an engine-run boat. Seeing the Coast Guard, the smugglers jumped into the river and fled to the bank of the Burmese border. The Coast Guards officers were not able to arrest them because of heavy dew, sources said.
Searching the boat, the Coast Guard officers recovered 2,712 bottles of contraband foreign liquor and 504 cans of foreign beer. They also seized the engine boat worth about Tk 5 million.
Following the failure to arrest the smugglers, local people criticized the Coast Guard personnel. They filed a case against the smugglers with the Teknaf Police Station and made a list of seized goods and will hand over all the goods to the concerned office, said Lt Deluwar Hossain, the commander of the Teknaf Coast Guard.
Moreover, members of Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested four women and seized 1.2 kg of heroin and 2,500 Yaba tablets from their possession in Dhaka on December 19 around midnight, according to sources.
The arrestees were identified as Shilpi Akter, Parul Begum, Rozina Akter, and Marzina Begum.
Local people from Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf said that Bangladesh has become a depot for Burmese narcotic drugs and liquor. If the flow of drugs and liquor is not stopped in time, the people of Bangladesh will face a difficult situation in the future.
