Ukhiya, Oct 14 (V7N) – Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized 2.2 lakh yaba tablets, a foreign-made pistol, two magazines, 11 rounds of ammunition and a specially designed submersible wooden boat used for drug smuggling in separate operations along the Ukhiya border in Cox’s Bazar. Three people were arrested in connection with the operations.

Special patrol teams of the Ukhiya Battalion (64 BGB) conducted the operations in the Palongkhali and Balukhali border areas on Tuesday, October 13, Lieutenant Colonel Md Zahirul Islam, commanding officer of the battalion, said in a press release.

The arrested men were identified as Belal Uddin, 35, son of Nur Alam of Nalbunia village in Palongkhali Union; Khorshed Alam, 26, son of Farid Alam of Madhyam Pharir Bil village; and Rocky Ahmed, 26, son of Farid of Rahmater Bil village, all in Ukhiya.

According to BGB, a patrol team from the Palongkhali Border Outpost spotted several suspicious people beside a raised hut near Monir’s fish enclosure in Anjumanpara around 9:30pm on Monday, October 12.

When BGB personnel challenged them, Belal Uddin and Khorshed Alam were arrested as they allegedly tried to flee.

A subsequent search of the area and the hut led to the seizure of a foreign-made pistol, two magazines, 11 rounds of ammunition, a mobile phone, nine pulleys, a submersible wooden carrier, nearly two kilometres of steel wire, a high-powered battery, an electric motor and other equipment.

BGB said the specially designed wooden carrier was being used to transport yaba from Myanmar across the Naf River into Bangladesh. According to the force, the carrier was moved through the Naf River and into Faiyashakhali Canal in Palongkhali using an electric motor, steel wires and pulleys.

The pulleys and wires were reportedly used to control the carrier’s movement while navigating bends in the canal. BGB estimates that the system could transport around 30 lakh yaba tablets in a single trip.

In a separate operation, a special patrol team from the Balukhali Border Outpost arrested Rocky Ahmed at around 3am on Tuesday and recovered 2 lakh yaba tablets from his possession.

At around 6am the same day, another patrol team from the Palongkhali Border Outpost recovered an additional 20,000 yaba tablets abandoned in the area.

The three operations resulted in the seizure of a total of 2.2 lakh yaba tablets.

BGB said the Ukhiya Battalion had seized approximately 1 crore 66 lakh 30 thousand yaba tablets so far this year. During the same period, 228 people were arrested on allegations of involvement in drug smuggling.

Lieutenant Colonel Zahirul Islam said smugglers were adopting new methods to transport drugs across the border, but BGB operations would continue using professional expertise, operational skills and technological capabilities to prevent drug trafficking. He also called for public cooperation in combating smuggling.

END/MSI/SMA/