The use of contraband drug Yaba and the trade centering it have marked a phenomenal rise in Bangladesh over the last five years, triggering serious concern among the guardians and law enforcers.
A tablet of the Amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) Yaba is now dominating the country's illicit drug market following its growing use among the young addicts.
According to the data available with the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), the number of Yaba tablets seized by all agencies concerned was 32 times higher to reach 2,821,528 pieces in 2013 as against only 89,469 pieces in 2009.
The expanding illegal market of the stimulant tablets helped a giant leap in the availability of the drug. It is estimated that Yaba tablets worth Tk 7.05 billion were transacted in the calendar year 2013 in Bangladesh.
"We could seize only a small part of the consignments," DNC Director (operations and intelligence) Pranab Kumar Neogi told the FE.
The state-owned department like those in other countries does not have any specific data on the number of drug addicts as well as the quantity of the illicit drug smuggled into Bangladesh annually.
He disclosed that the drug addicts on an average spend at least Tk 250 for each tablet.
Based on the estimates done by the DNC, the law enforcement agencies, the Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) and the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Coast Guard and Bangladesh Navy seized Yaba worth Tk 700 million in 2013.
Seeking anonymity, another DNC senior official said the value of the tablets seized is rather conservative one.
He said the price of each tablet in some cases could go up to Tk 700, depending on supply and demand. "Now, Yaba has become the dominant drug item in Bangladesh in terms of its growing market size, which has overtaken those of Phensidyl and other forms of drugs," he said.
Yaba, a Thai word meaning 'crazy medicine', is an addictive and extremely harmful drug. The tablet flows into the country mainly from Thailand via Myanmar, according to the DNC.
Teens and youngsters of the affluent families are the main consumers of this drug which makes its users excited and gives them an instant euphoric feeling. But the drug leaves a deadly effect on the users.
Unknown to the users, Yaba has different side-effects like tremors, hypertension, hallucination, psychotic episodes, paranoia, delusions, hypothermia, nervousness, mental confusion and memory loss.
To prevent the growing flow of the stimulating tablets, the ministry of home affairs on December 28 last sat in an emergency meeting with the DNC officials and other law enforcement agencies at the ministry and instructed them about launching an immediate special drive against the smugglers and traders.
Following the meeting, law enforcement agencies stepped up intelligence activities in bordering areas, specially east and southeastern parts of the country where most consignments of Yaba are smuggled into.
Talking to the FE, Major Kazi Md Rashedul Alam of Rab-7 said the elite force members are engaged in a special drive to nab the Yaba smugglers and carriers and seized around 100,000 pieces of the tablet in last one month alone from Teknaf.
He said there are two categories of the stimulating tablets -- R-7 and WY (locally known as Champa) -- which are in high demand domestically.
He said R-7 is expensive as a piece of this drug costs in between Tk 500 to Tk 700 while each WY tablet can be purchased for around Tk 300 in Dhaka and other parts of the country.
Social Service Officer at the state-owned Central Drug Addiction Treatment Centre Ruzena Islam said the addicts have diverted the pattern of their addiction to Yaba because of its availability here.
"There are 40 addicts now undergoing treatment at the centre and 75 per cent of them are Yaba addicts," she said.
A study of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed last month that there was mounting evidence that the South Asian region is increasingly being used for illicit ATS in recent years.
The findings of the study also showed that methamphetamine pills and powder were the most commonly used forms of ATS and most users were in their early twenties.
The banned drug Yaba sent a wave of shock and fear among the guardians in the country last year following the double murder of an inspector of the Special Branch (SB) and his wife by their addicted daughter.
Dr Arup Ratan Choudhury, founder president of Association for the Prevention of Drug Abuse (MANAS), expressed his deep concern over the growing use of drugs like Yaba.
"Time has come to open our eyes and be aware of the deadly effects of drugs as it is silently destroying our younger generation. The double murder should sound an alarm bell for every family. Every guardian should inquire about the status of the friends of their children," he said.
Drugs are not only affecting the family or society but also causing huge financial loss to the country. According to the MANAS, the addicts spend at least Tk 70 billion a year on drugs and the amount is increasing day by day.
There are nearly 9.0 million people in the country who are highly dependent on drugs and the number is nine times that estimated in the 1990s, it said.
Criminologist Prof Dr ASM Amanullah of Dhaka University, sharing a recent survey finding with the FE, said that 10,000 drug dealers sell some 2.0 million Yaba pieces a day across the country.
"The statistics show how fast the drug market is expanding in Bangladesh. It is a grave sign for the society," he said.
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