Bangladesh is planning to set up cameras along a common river, which it shares with Myanmar, in an effort to stop the influx of methamphetamine-based Yaba tablets, the parliament was told on Thursday (Mar 7).
“Apart from cameras, the narcotics control department plans to set up drug detectors, scanners and other modern equipments to stop smuggling in of the contraband tablets,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said.
The Naf River in the southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar separates Myanmar and Bangladesh. The two countries also share land borders which stretches 170 miles.
Building a drug-free Bangladesh is a major challenge for the government, the minister told the House.
“The government has taken zero tolerance policy against drug and the policy will continue,” he said.
In 2018, law enforcement prosecuted 161,323 people, for drug offences, according to the home minister.
Over 69 million Yaba pills, 450 kg of heroin and 60,000 kg of cannabis were seized in the last year, he added.
A combination of methamphetamine and caffeine, and a popular substitute for the party drug Ecstasy, yaba tablets made way into Bangladesh's party scene in the early 2005.
A series of sensational raids in 2007 and media coverage of the issue brought the drugs into limelight that year, leading to calls for strict prevention of its spread.
Methamphetamine, the key component of yaba, is highly addictive and causes withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, insomnia, confusion, tremors, convulsions, anxiety, paranoia, and aggressiveness.
Yaba is usually smuggled into Bangladesh through 45 routes of Cox’s Bazar district, bordering Myanmar's Rakhine State, according to intelligence agencies.
Myanmar is infamous for producing vast quantities of yaba, opium and cannabis.
Drug trafficking has emerged as a problem in Rakhine State and an illicit drug trade has flourished in the region due to its mountainous land and porous borders.