BGB seizes 460,000 yaba pills in two Teknaf border raids, detains four traffickers

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered 460,000 yaba pills in two separate operations along the Teknaf border in Cox's Bazar, detaining four drug traffickers.

The two raids were carried out on Monday (19 October) at the Whyakong checkpoint and in the Ulubonia border area of Teknaf.

Lieutenant Colonel Zahirul Islam, commander of Ukhiya Battalion 64 BGB, confirmed the matter. He said the operations recovered 460,000 yaba pills worth Tk 13.8 crore and detained four traffickers.

The detainees are Shakil (22), son of Bakkar Ahmed of Whyakong Katakhali in Teknaf; Russel (23), son of the late Kader; Md Saiful Islam (31), son of Md Nurul Islam of Gosailbhanga village under Double Mooring police station in Chattogram; and Khairul Amin (24), son of the late Siddik, of Rohingya Camp No. 4 in Ukhiya.

According to BGB sources, a double-cabin pickup was intercepted in the first operation. The vehicle was travelling from Moulvibazar via Teknaf towards Chattogram.

At around 8pm, when the pickup reached the Whyakong BGB checkpoint, on-duty BGB members grew suspicious. A search found 120,000 yaba pills cleverly hidden beneath the cover of the rear seat, and one person was detained.

The second operation was conducted at around 9pm. Acting on intelligence, a BGB patrol team laid an ambush at Whyakong Ulubonia, an area under the Palongkhali BOP.

That raid recovered 340,000 yaba pills, and three people including Shakil were detained.

In one operation the consignment was hidden inside a pickup travelling by road; in the other it was being smuggled across the border area — in both cases BGB vigilance caught the shipments.

The Teknaf border has long been known as one of the main routes for yaba smuggling, and the BGB regularly conducts operations to stop drugs entering through this frontier.

Legal proceedings against the four detainees are under way, and the recovered yaba has been seized.

Recovering more than four and a half lakh yaba pills in a single night has once again highlighted how active drug smuggling remains along the border — while also demonstrating the BGB's intelligence work and checkpoint vigilance.