Rohingya yaba smugglers still active in Myanmar: Rab

Rohingya, who are involved with the lucrative cross-border yaba smuggling, are still very much active in Myanmar, despite the government crackdown, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) said Wednesday.

Rab Director General Benazir Ahmed made the comment while addressing an event titled “International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking” held at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) in Dhaka.

“Those Rohingya people directly involved with yaba smuggling are still active on the other side of the border (Myanmar),” he said.

Benazir who was the chief guest of the event further said: “Law enforcers cannot single handedly prevent drug abuse. It is a disease, and everyone should stand united to purge this disease from our country.

“The war against illegal drugs is not over yet. It is not the time to judge whether we succeeded or failed, it is time to join hands against the issue.”

Rab has been facing new techniques being applied to drug trafficking for long time, he claimed. It has so far detained 21,000 drug traffickers and dealers. They also seized drugs worth Tk 700 crore, according to the Rab DG.

"Drug can deeply damage a country’s economy as has happened in Latin America,” he said in further discussion.

Arup Ratan Choudhury, member of the National Narcotics Control Board, was also present as the keynote speaker.

"There are 75 lakh drug addicts in the country. Of them, 80 percent is young, 60 percent involved with crime, 98 percent smokers and 57 percent sexual abusers," he quoted a study.

“E-cigarettes have the same psychological effect on the brain and may pose the same risk of addiction as other drugs such as cigarettes, especially in adolescents during a critical period of brain development,” said Arup Ratan.

In recent times, 25,575 cases have been filed against drugs trafficking and 37,225 people have been arrested Rab figures reveal.