The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has detained three Rohingya men with a consignment of contraband methamphetamine-based Yaba tablets.
They were held on Wednesday from Cox’s Bazar Ukhiya Upazila in possession of 20, 000 tablets, said local RAB-7 Company Commander Md Ruhul Amin.
A raid was conducted on a tip-off at Ukhiya’s Panbazar on Wednesday evening, he said.
The estimated street value of the haul is around Tk 8 million, according to the elite police unit.
The three Rohingyas have been handed over the police, said the RAB officer.
Yaba tablets are a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine, and a popular substitute for the party drug Ecstasy.
It made its way into Bangladesh's party scene in early 2000.
A series of sensational raids in 2007 and media coverage on the issue brought the drugs into limelight that year, leading to calls for stopping their use.
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 Yaba, opium and cannabis in vast quantities.