From Phensedyl to Yaba
Monday, 23 May 2011
Shamsul Huq Zahid
On May 20 last, the police recovered a few bottles of Phensedyl from inside the school bag being carried by a minor boy and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) seized 18000 pieces of 'Yaba' tablets from an alleged drug trader. Next day, the police seized 40,000 pieces of 'Yaba' tablets from a private car the driver of which could manage to escape during the police operation. The increased incidence of recoveries of 'Yaba' tablets, that too in large volume, does indicate that there has been a major shift in the use of drugs in the country. The drug addicts -- nobody knows for sure the actual number of drug addicts in the country -- in greater numbers have switched over to "Yaba' tablets, produced from a chemical known as methamphetamine, from the Phensedyl syrup which, of late, has become costlier. The codeine phosphate syrup which is smuggled into Bangladesh from neighbouring India used to dominate the drug market until recently. Since the traders have found the carrying and trading of 'Yaba' tablets easier and less riskier than Phensedyl they have promoted the use of the drug among the drug addicts. So easy availability coupled with price have made the methamphetamine drug popular among the drug addicts. 'Yaba' tablets enter Bangladesh from neighbouring Myanmar using a new traffic route from Yangon to Rakhine state that has a long border with Bangladesh. According to the UN office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNDOC), Myanmar has emerged as a major producer of methamphetamine-based drugs and supplier of the same to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, China and India. A three-fold increase in the seizures of the drug in Myanmar in recent years does indicate to the manufacture and trafficking of the same in greater volume. And the UN office finds a link between renewed hostilities between the ethnic armed groups in Myanmar and the government of that country with the surge in 'Yaba' production. The armed groups do rely on the proceeds from drug manufacturing and marketing for their sustenance. According to UNDOC, in 2009, the total seizures of methamphetamine pills in Myanmar, Thailand and China amounted to over 93 million compared to that of 32 million seized in 2008. Almost in a similar trend, the number of 'Yaba' tablets seized in Bangladesh has been on the increase in recent years. The number of 'Yaba' pills seized by the department of narcotics control was 8,184 in 2007 and the number increased to 14,458 in 2010. However, statistics relating to the recovery of the same drug by other law enforcing agencies, including police, RAB and Border Guard of Bangladesh (formerly known as the Bangladesh Rifles), is not available. The total volume of drugs seized by all the agencies is likely to be sizeable. The prices of 'Yaba' tablets vary, depending on their quality. A pack containing 200 red or orange tablets carrying 'WY' marks on their body costs $515 in Myanmar while a packet of green "WY' pills costs $345 dollars in Myanmar border towns. In Bangladesh, a Yaba tablet costs between Tk 300 and 500 while the cost of a bottle of Phensedyl is now between Tk. 800 and Tk.900. 'Yaba is claimed to create an intense hallucinogenic effect and can keep users awake for days. The drug is addictive and habit-forming and it has serious side-effects as regular use has been linked to lung and kidney disorders, hallucinations and paranoia. Those coming off the drug are also susceptible to severe depression and suicidal urges. The problem of drug addiction has been taking substantial social and economic costs in Bangladesh. Unofficial sources claim that nearly 40 percent students of both private and public universities in Dhaka have developed some form of drug addiction. In fact, the problem of drug addiction has not spared any particular sections in the society. A certain percentage of students, professionals, government servants and even members of disciplined forces are hooked to drugs, in one form or the other. The arrest of a couple of army officers for carrying drugs sometimes back is pointer to that fact. Despite the fact a large segment of younger generation being ruined due to drug addiction, the official efforts to address the problem have been very scanty. The volume of drugs seized by the narcotics and drug control and other law enforcing agencies is considered very small compared to the drugs consumed by a large number of addicts. Drugs are easily available in cities and towns as the agencies concerned fail to make concerted efforts to bust the dens of drugs and arrest the drugs traders and traffickers. One glaring example of the official inaction is the presence of unauthorized Phensedyl manufacturing factories in areas along the Bangladesh-India border. No government has raised the demand forcefully before India to get those facilities inside its territory demolished to help stop smuggling of Phensedyl into Bangladesh. Impunity that the drug traffickers and traders enjoy is due to their skill in neutralizing or undermining the work of the law enforcers through systemic corruption and by infiltrating the government forces. There is always a link between drug trafficking and criminal networks that often enjoy political patronization. That is why in most cases small-time traffickers or traders are targeted by the law enforcing agencies and big fishes go untouched. But the impact of drug business on the economy cannot be ignored. The drug money, which is obviously a part of the black economy, enters the formal economy using various formal routes of trade and commerce. Given the serious negative social and economic effect of widespread use of drugs, the government does need to strengthen its anti-drug activities both at the national and field levels. Things cannot go the way they are now. The narcotics and drug control agency, which has shortage of both manpower and logistics, needs to be revamped and given more power to act swiftly and decisively against the drug lords. ........................................ zahidmar10@gmail.com
On May 20 last, the police recovered a few bottles of Phensedyl from inside the school bag being carried by a minor boy and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) seized 18000 pieces of 'Yaba' tablets from an alleged drug trader. Next day, the police seized 40,000 pieces of 'Yaba' tablets from a private car the driver of which could manage to escape during the police operation. The increased incidence of recoveries of 'Yaba' tablets, that too in large volume, does indicate that there has been a major shift in the use of drugs in the country. The drug addicts -- nobody knows for sure the actual number of drug addicts in the country -- in greater numbers have switched over to "Yaba' tablets, produced from a chemical known as methamphetamine, from the Phensedyl syrup which, of late, has become costlier. The codeine phosphate syrup which is smuggled into Bangladesh from neighbouring India used to dominate the drug market until recently. Since the traders have found the carrying and trading of 'Yaba' tablets easier and less riskier than Phensedyl they have promoted the use of the drug among the drug addicts. So easy availability coupled with price have made the methamphetamine drug popular among the drug addicts. 'Yaba' tablets enter Bangladesh from neighbouring Myanmar using a new traffic route from Yangon to Rakhine state that has a long border with Bangladesh. According to the UN office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UNDOC), Myanmar has emerged as a major producer of methamphetamine-based drugs and supplier of the same to neighbouring Southeast Asian countries, China and India. A three-fold increase in the seizures of the drug in Myanmar in recent years does indicate to the manufacture and trafficking of the same in greater volume. And the UN office finds a link between renewed hostilities between the ethnic armed groups in Myanmar and the government of that country with the surge in 'Yaba' production. The armed groups do rely on the proceeds from drug manufacturing and marketing for their sustenance. According to UNDOC, in 2009, the total seizures of methamphetamine pills in Myanmar, Thailand and China amounted to over 93 million compared to that of 32 million seized in 2008. Almost in a similar trend, the number of 'Yaba' tablets seized in Bangladesh has been on the increase in recent years. The number of 'Yaba' pills seized by the department of narcotics control was 8,184 in 2007 and the number increased to 14,458 in 2010. However, statistics relating to the recovery of the same drug by other law enforcing agencies, including police, RAB and Border Guard of Bangladesh (formerly known as the Bangladesh Rifles), is not available. The total volume of drugs seized by all the agencies is likely to be sizeable. The prices of 'Yaba' tablets vary, depending on their quality. A pack containing 200 red or orange tablets carrying 'WY' marks on their body costs $515 in Myanmar while a packet of green "WY' pills costs $345 dollars in Myanmar border towns. In Bangladesh, a Yaba tablet costs between Tk 300 and 500 while the cost of a bottle of Phensedyl is now between Tk. 800 and Tk.900. 'Yaba is claimed to create an intense hallucinogenic effect and can keep users awake for days. The drug is addictive and habit-forming and it has serious side-effects as regular use has been linked to lung and kidney disorders, hallucinations and paranoia. Those coming off the drug are also susceptible to severe depression and suicidal urges. The problem of drug addiction has been taking substantial social and economic costs in Bangladesh. Unofficial sources claim that nearly 40 percent students of both private and public universities in Dhaka have developed some form of drug addiction. In fact, the problem of drug addiction has not spared any particular sections in the society. A certain percentage of students, professionals, government servants and even members of disciplined forces are hooked to drugs, in one form or the other. The arrest of a couple of army officers for carrying drugs sometimes back is pointer to that fact. Despite the fact a large segment of younger generation being ruined due to drug addiction, the official efforts to address the problem have been very scanty. The volume of drugs seized by the narcotics and drug control and other law enforcing agencies is considered very small compared to the drugs consumed by a large number of addicts. Drugs are easily available in cities and towns as the agencies concerned fail to make concerted efforts to bust the dens of drugs and arrest the drugs traders and traffickers. One glaring example of the official inaction is the presence of unauthorized Phensedyl manufacturing factories in areas along the Bangladesh-India border. No government has raised the demand forcefully before India to get those facilities inside its territory demolished to help stop smuggling of Phensedyl into Bangladesh. Impunity that the drug traffickers and traders enjoy is due to their skill in neutralizing or undermining the work of the law enforcers through systemic corruption and by infiltrating the government forces. There is always a link between drug trafficking and criminal networks that often enjoy political patronization. That is why in most cases small-time traffickers or traders are targeted by the law enforcing agencies and big fishes go untouched. But the impact of drug business on the economy cannot be ignored. The drug money, which is obviously a part of the black economy, enters the formal economy using various formal routes of trade and commerce. Given the serious negative social and economic effect of widespread use of drugs, the government does need to strengthen its anti-drug activities both at the national and field levels. Things cannot go the way they are now. The narcotics and drug control agency, which has shortage of both manpower and logistics, needs to be revamped and given more power to act swiftly and decisively against the drug lords. ........................................ zahidmar10@gmail.com