Rohingya carriers of yaba are arrested but no trace of main culprits 

A number of Rohingya refugees have been arrested in Bangladesh while carrying yaba pills but the main culprits behind the smuggling of the drug from Myanmar are still to be caught.  

Uttam Sen Gupta Chattogram Bureaubdnews24.com
Published : 26 March 2019, 08:43 PM
Updated : 26 March 2019, 08:45 PM

The Department of Narcotics Control officials cite the technological shortcomings, manpower crisis and legal barriers for their failure to track the yaba smugglers down.

Only the Rohingya carriers, not the people who were sending or receiving the hauls, are being charged because the law enforcers fail to identify the main perpetrators, Shamim Ahmed, a deputy director at DNC’s Chattrogram Metropolitan sub-region, told bdnews24.com. 

Having failed to stop the smuggling, the government launched a crackdown in which many drug traders were killed in so-called shootouts with the law enforcers during drives in recent months.

Over 100 top yaba traders surrendered to police in Cox’s Bazar function earlier this year.

The others still involved in the trade were warned of “dire consequences” but the menace is far from over.    

Yaba pills are sold throughout Bangladesh after being smuggled in from Myanmar through Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar.

The Rohingyas, displaced from Myanmar’s Rakhine state and currently staying in Cox’s Bazar refugee camps, are being used as carriers.

Some 50 Rohingyas, including four women, were arrested on charges of carrying a total of 136,000 yaba pills in different drives until Mar 20 from Aug 30, 2017 after the Myanmar Army launched a crackdown on the ethnic minority triggering the exodus of over 1 million.

In the 38 cases started over the incidents, the suspects have been charged in 30.

“We could not find any number on their mobile phones and the arrestees don’t reveal any number either. We can’t even see their call records due to technological limitations,” DNC’s Shamim said.

It is also difficult to squeeze information out of the arrested Rohingyas “because they are mentally very strong”, he said.

Besides the technological disadvantage, DNC officials said they lack staff to investigate cases within a 45-day deadline set by the High Court.