Local drug dealers financing Yaba plants on BD-Myanmar border

Jubair Hasan | Published: September 20, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

Local drug dealers have now started financing the establishment of Yaba-manufacturing units in the border areas of Myanmar adjacent to Bangladesh, officials said.
Intelligence officials of the state-run Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) said they have information that nearly 40 such factories have been installed recently alongside the Naf River in Myanmar with the finance of Bangladeshi drug dealers.
"Local dealers are investing on the manufacturing units, eyeing windfall profit, which has prompted dealers of other drugs to go for investment in Yaba production," said an official of DNC that fights against consumption and inflow of illegal drugs.
Citing their findings, the official told the FE that local Yaba traders in connection with their allies in Myanmar were bringing large consignments of the banned tablet from these factories to Bangladesh under the patronisation of a section of influential politicians.
Manufacturers require nearly Tk 1.0 million to set up such a unit, and the stimulating tablets enter the country mainly through waterways and land routes, he added.
DNC Director General Mohammad Atwar Rahman said: "Yes, we've information on investment by Bangladeshi drug dealers in Myanmar."
Expressing his grave concern over phenomenal rise in Yaba trade in the recent years, he said a large number of people in the bordering areas are directly engaged with the illegal business.
"It's very difficult to monitor their activities with our limited resources. People from all walks of life need to come forward against the trade."
He also said the law-enforcers could seize only a fraction of the total consignment, thought to be at least 10 times more than the quantity seized by the authorities.
There is no specific statistics about the market size of this drug. No nationwide survey has been conducted so far to know the extent of the financial involvement and the impact of the drug use on the society.
Teens and youngsters of affluent families are the main consumers of this drug, which makes the users excited and gives them an instant euphoria, but later on creates a deadly impact on them.
Talking to the FE, staff officer (intelligence) of Bangladesh Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander M Rajibul Islam said the volume of illegal consignments of Yaba through sea routes is gradually increasing.
"We have been put on alert to prevent such trafficking because of the growing demand of the drug," he added.
According to DNC, international drug dealers use Bangladesh as a transit corridor for smuggling contraband drugs from Myanmar and other countries of the 'Golden Triangle' to different destinations. Consignments of the drugs enter into the country through more than 500 points.
Its statistics show that more than 2.80 million pieces of narcotic tablets were seized by various state-run agencies in 2013 against nearly 2.0 million pieces in 2012.
In the first six months of this calendar year (January-June), some 1.80 million pieces of Amphetamine-type stimulant (ATS) tablets have been seized.
Yaba-manufacturing units by Bangladeshi drug dealers came to spotlight in July after the law-enforcers busted the country's first-ever Yaba-making plant at Jatrabari in the capital.
The Detective Branch (DB) of Police unearthed the plant on July 19, and arrested four people along with 1,265 pieces of Yaba tablets. They also recovered various manufacturing equipments from there.
When contacted, DMP Deputy Commissioner (DB) Krishnapada Roy admitted the alarming rise in Yaba consumption and trade in the capital, saying that it has put teen-agers and young generation in a vulnerable situation.
"Following recovery of the Yaba plant, we've intensified our vigilance to prevent its trading in the city."
Citing the findings of a DMP study, he said nearly 45 per cent of the children, detained by the law-enforcers, are directly involved in trading and consuming drugs.
"People from all sections of the society are becoming the victims of the deadly drug. It should be considered as the most threatening phenomenon for the nation," he added.
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