Following a tip-off a BGB patrol team launched an operation near to No. 2 sluice-gate next to the Naf River on at about 8.30pm on 11th October. They recovered several plastic bags containing about 40,000 yaba (amphetamine) tablets according to Lt. Col. Md. Abuzar Al Jahid the commanding Officer of Teknaf Border Guard Battalion No. 42.

Though the BGB team had information about other yaba pills they had to suspend operations due to heavy overnight rain. Col Jahid said: “The BGB members later conducted a fresh drive in the same area and recovered 100,000 more Yaba tablets at about 5:30 am.”

A BGB official also said that members of the (BGB) recovered 140,000 Yaba tablets, worth about 42 million Taka (USD 525,000) from Teknaf, south of Cox’s Bazar District, on the night of 11th to 12th October.

He said that on the night of 13th October BGB officials seized 77,512 Yaba tablets worth 23.3 million Taka (USD 291,000) from a boat on the Naf River.

Lt Col M Abuzar Al Jahid said the BGB patrol team intercepted the boat, which was coming from Lal Dwip in Burma, at the island of Jailya Dwip at about 8.30pm on 13th October.

Realising that the BGB were close the yaba smugglers abandoned their boat and jumped into the river. Later, the border guards recovered the Yaba tablets which were stored in eight packets inside a basket, the officer said.

Because the smugglers had already fled no arrests were made.

A local trader from Teknaf town said that thousands of Yaba tablets have been smuggled by sea from Burma to Bangladesh. As a result the Bangladeshi authorities have tightened security along the border, but they have been unable to eradicate the smuggling.