Drug dealers are using Rohingya children as carriers to move yaba consignments across the country, says the Detective Branch in Dhaka.
“Rohingya families are allowing their children to work for drug dealers to make some quick money,” Additional Commissioner Debdas Bhattacharya told a media briefing on Monday.
On Sunday, the Detective Branch (DB) arrested two Rohingyas males, including a 12-year-old from Dhaka’s Dakshin Khan. Later in the day, another four suspected drug dealers were detained from the same area.
Police said, the arrested Rohingyas — Md Selim Molla and his minor nephew Md Afsar ingested yaba tablets after wrapping them with scotch tape.
The two were transporting 5,000 yaba tablets, which were packed in capsules made of plastic and scotch tape. Each capsules contained 50 tablets.
Selim ingested 70 such capsules while his nephew Afser 30 capsules.
The four drug dealers, who are Bangladesh nationals, arrested on Sunday have been identified as Md Mamun Sheikh, Md Shariful, Md Fahim Sarkar and Md Razib Hossain.
Mamun and his fugitive accomplice Rezwan have been dealing yaba for some time now.
Rezwan was in charge of procuring yaba from Cox's Bazar and sending consignments while Mamun collected them in Dhaka from the carriers.
Selim Mollah, the Rohingya man arrested on Sunday, lives with his family in Leda refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya, said police.
He became acquainted with Rezwan, who proposed to pay him Tk 25,000 for transporting yaba to Dhaka.
According to the deal, Selim and his nephew Afsar arrived Dhaka by bus on Sunday afternoon. Detectives detained them on a tip-off. The four drug dealers were arrested as they were waiting to receive the consignment.
Additional Commissioner Bhattacharya said that the two Rohingyas have transported several Yaba consignments inside their bodies before they were held on Sunday.