Coast Guard seizes 14kg crystal meth, liquor and 5,000 Yaba in Teknaf

Two wooden boats carrying 14kg crystal meth and 20 bottles of foreign liquor seized; one arrested with 5,000 yaba tablets The Bangladesh Coast Guard has seized a large quantity of narcotics in three separate operations in Teknaf and Ukhiya of Cox’s Bazar. The operations resulted in the seizure of 14 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, and 20 bottles of foreign liquor from two wooden boats. In another operation, a man was arrested with 5,000 yaba tablets. Coast Guard media officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon confirmed the matter on Wednesday (September 2).

According to Coast Guard sources, the force received confidential information that two large consignments of crystal meth were being smuggled into Bangladesh from Myanmar through the Naf River. Acting on the information, Coast Guard personnel from Station Teknaf and Shah Porir Dwip conducted two separate special operations from 1:00am to 3:00am on Wednesday in areas adjacent to Jaliar Dwip and Jaliapara in Teknaf.

Sensing the presence of the Coast Guard, the suspected drug traffickers beached the two wooden boats in the mangrove forest near Jaliar Dwip and in the Keora forest area of Jaliapara before fleeing the scene. The Coast Guard later searched the boats and recovered 14 kilograms of crystal meth, ingeniously concealed in tea packets, along with 20 bottles of foreign liquor. The two wooden boats allegedly used to transport the narcotics were also seized during the operation.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard Station Teknaf conducted another special operation at around 10:00pm on Tuesday (September 1) near a petrol pump in Palongkhali, Ukhiya. During the operation, Coast Guard personnel searched a suspected individual and recovered 5,000 yaba tablets from his possession. He was subsequently arrested. Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Sujon said legal proceedings against the arrested individual and regarding the seized narcotics and other evidence are underway.

He said intelligence surveillance and special operations would continue to identify and apprehend drug traffickers and their associates involved in such consignments. The Coast Guard will continue similar operations in the future to curb the spread of narcotics and prevent drug trafficking through the border routes, he added.