2 army camps to be set up in Cox's Bazar hills to curb abductions: Home minister

Two Bangladesh Army camps will be set up in the hilly areas of Ukhiya and Teknaf in Cox's Bazar to prevent abductions, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said yesterday (6 August).

Authorities will prepare a list of key drug traffickers and syndicate leaders as part of a broader crackdown on narcotics, he said after a meeting on narcotics control and law and order in Cox's Bazar, held at the Circuit House and organised by the district administration.

"We will set up two army camps in the hilly areas of Ukhiya and Teknaf to prevent abductions," Salahuddin said.

He added that joint force camps will also be established along known drug trafficking routes, while the navy and coast guard will intensify maritime patrols to curb the smuggling of narcotics.

"The installation of closed-circuit cameras across the Rohingya camps will be completed, and those involved in drug trafficking inside the camps will also be identified," he said.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the home minister said fishermen and fishing vessels operating in Ukhiya and Teknaf will be brought under a registration system. 

He added that fishing boats travelling by sea will be monitored through 11 surveillance towers.

"Everyone knows Cox's Bazar is a major drug trafficking route. Yaba is smuggled across the country through this corridor," he said.

He added that preventing drug trafficking and strengthening narcotics control remain among the government's top priorities.