Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officers have intercepted a massive consignment of 460,000 Yaba tablets worth approximately BDT 138 million (over £1 million) during two targeted operations along the sensitive Teknaf border region in Cox’s Bazar. Four suspected drug traffickers, including a Rohingya national, were taken into custody during the coordinated night-time raids.
Providing details on the operations, Lieutenant Colonel Zahirul Islam, Commanding Officer of the Ukhiya Battalion (64 BGB), confirmed that the seizures took place on Monday night across two separate strategic border points under the battalion’s jurisdiction.
The first crackdown occurred at around 8:00 pm at the Howaikyang BGB checkpost. Acting on suspicion, border guards signaled a double-cabin pickup truck to stop as it was traveling from Maulvibazar through Teknaf towards Chittagong. A thorough search of the vehicle unveiled 120,000 Yaba pills meticulously concealed beneath the custom covers of the rear passenger seats. The driver was immediately taken into custody and the vehicle seized.
Barely an hour later, at 9:00 pm, a specialized patrol team from the Palongkhali Border Outpost (BOP) launched an ambush along the Ulubuniya border area in Howaikyang. Operating on precise intelligence regarding an incoming illicit shipment, BGB personnel intercepted the suspect group, seizing a further 340,000 Yaba tablets and apprehending three individuals at the scene.
The four detainees have been identified as Shakil, 22, and Russel, 23, both residents of Kata Khali in Teknaf; Md. Saiful Islam, 31, hailing from the Double Mooring area of Chittagong; and Khairul Amin, 24, a registered inhabitant of Rohingya Camp 4 in Ukhiya.
Teknaf, situated along the Naaf River bordering Myanmar, remains a key transit corridor for the smuggling of Yaba—a potent mixture of methamphetamine and caffeine. Despite heightened surveillance along the southeastern frontier, trafficking syndicates frequently exploit difficult border terrain and recruit vulnerable displaced populations to transport narcotics into Bangladesh’s urban centres. Legal proceedings against the four suspects are currently underway at the local police station.
