120,000 Yaba Tablets Recovered from Buried Cache, One Arrested

In Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, authorities have recovered 120,000 yaba tablets after digging into the ground. Mohammad Ismail (32) has been arrested in connection with the incident by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in coordination with local police. The operation was confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel Ashiqur Rahman, commander of 2 BGB Teknaf, on Saturday afternoon, 27 September.

The arrested individual, Ismail, is the son of the late Sheikh Ahmed from the Dargarchhara area of Teknaf municipality. Two other suspects, Mohammad Yasin and Mohammad Taher, remain at large.

Lieutenant Colonel Ashiqur Rahman stated that intelligence indicated a large consignment of yaba had been smuggled from Myanmar via sea and hidden near Noakhali Para in Teknaf. Acting on this information, a joint operation by the BGB and police was launched.

“At around 1:15 am on Friday, the operation began in Dargarchhara where Ismail was arrested,” Lt. Col. Rahman explained.

Following Ismail’s confession and with assistance from the BGB’s special dog squad, the authorities excavated the ground beside a house belonging to a man named Taher in Noakhali Para and recovered the tablets.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the yaba consignment from Myanmar was intended for a businessman in Sabraang area, delivered through Yasin. Human trafficking networks exploit Rohingya individuals to smuggle drugs into Bangladesh via maritime routes.

Lt. Col. Ashiqur Rahman remarked: “This special anti-narcotics operation reflects the BGB’s strict zero-tolerance policy toward drug trafficking, reinforcing border security and crime prevention. A case has been filed against the arrested individual under the Narcotics Control Act.”