Kaladan News

Dated: Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Smuggling of W.Y Drug Tablets Increases at Burma-Bangladesh Border

Teknaf, October 19: Smuggling of WY named drug tablets is now increasing in Burma-Bangladesh border, a source in the law enforcement agency at Maungdaw said on condition of anonymity.

Smuggling syndicates on both sides of the Burma and Bangladesh border have recently increased their operations along the border and the WY drug tablets are smuggled into Bangladesh from Burma through the different border routes. At present, there is no bilateral cooperation between Burma and Bangladesh on repression of smuggling along the common porous border, the source further added.

Big syndicates of Burmese smuggling rings operate in amalgamation with the highest in the Burmese junta. Many corrupt officials on both sides of the border act as party to the illegal cross-border smuggling. The Burmese smuggling rings operate at Maungdaw and Sittwe in Arakan State in Western Burma close to Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong in Bangladesh, said a father of drug addict from Maungdaw town and who has relation with local Nasaka(Burmese- Border Security Force) authorities.

On the pretext of border trade, volumes of goods imported from Burma are under invoiced, and through shady deals and arrangements narcotics are filtered into Bangladesh. Many of the illegal drug traffickers in the area are so powerful that no government agencies dare to take action against them for fear of loosing life or jobs, said a trader from Teknaf who declined to mention his name.

With growing numbers of drug peddlers and vendors across the country, there is a rising alarm about the trafficking of drugs from Burma. The WY tablets are replaced heroine that affects mostly youths, who are in the habit of the heroine. It is so powerful that it enables a youth, who takes it just for once, to retain his action up to 48 hours and it also strengthens sex power, the trader further said.

200 tablets are packed in a small package and any person is able to carry 4 to 5 packets hiding in his body to avoid the law enforcement agencies. It is similar size to the packet of Bangladesh made Sedil tablets. By micros, mostly private cars, the WY drug tablets are carried from Teknaf to other places such as--- Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong and Dhaka---, said another trader from Ukhiya Union under Cox’s Bazar district.

In Burma, WY drug tablet is being sold at Kyat 200 (Bangladesh currency Tk.13.33) per tablet while in Bangladesh it is being sold at Tk 320. So, the dealer gets at least Tk 270 profits per tablet in Bangladesh excluding the expenditure. It smuggled into Bangladesh from Burma since two years back. In Bangladesh now, due to unrestricted smuggling it has been become huge and the number of addicts has increased day by day, the trader further said.

In Burma, amphetamine production in Asia’s Golden Triangle is set to overtake heroine as the greatest drug threat to the neighboring countries such as Thailand, China, India, Bangladesh including USA, Australia and other European countries, said an elderly man named Sayed Akber in Chittagong, who frequent visits Thailand, Singapore, India and Malaysia. ##

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