BGB seizes over 21 kg of crystal meth in Cox's Bazar, arrests 3

BGB says a record quantity of the narcotic has been seized in the haul

Border Guard Bangladesh has arrested three people in possession of 21.9 kg of crystal meth, also known as ice, from the border at Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya, in a haul that the paramilitary force says is the largest seizure on record.

Smugglers stored the consignment at a Rohingya refugee camp in Ukhiya so that it could be shipped to different parts of the country later on, Lt Col Md Saiful Islam Chowdhury said in a media briefing at the Cox's Bazar BGB-34 Battalion office on Wednesday.

The arrestees have been identified as Bujruj Miya, 51 Md Ismail, 23, and Saiyadul Bashar, 40.

The BGB conducted a raid at the border in the Dakshin Rahmat Beel area of Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya at 12 am on Wednesday after being tipped off that a huge consignment of narcotics would be smuggled through there from Myanmar, according to the BGB officer.

“At 4 am, BGB members saw six to seven people carrying two small sacks and ordered them to stop. BGB managed to detain three who tried to flee after they were spotted,” Lt Col Saiful said.

The seized narcotics are valued at over Tk 630 million on the black market, the official said.

A case has been filed against the detainees at Ukhiya Police Station in connection with the incident, the BGB officer added.