By: Camp Correspondent
Cox’s Bazar, 2 July 2025 | Bangladesh’s security forces have arrested three Rohingya individuals in two separate anti-narcotics operations, recovering a total of 210,000 yaba pills—a powerful methamphetamine-based stimulant commonly trafficked in the region.
All three arrested persons are residents of the Kutupalong Rohingya Refugee Camp, and were apprehended during routine security checks in Naikhongchhari, a sensitive border area near the Myanmar frontier.
First Case: Two Women Caught with 90,000 Yaba Pills
On 26 June, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel arrested two Rohingya women who were allegedly transporting 90,000 yaba tablets in their bags.
The accused have been identified as:
- Golzahar (33), wife of the late Khairul Bashar
- Kulchuma (29), wife of Kamal Hossain
Both women are originally from Myanmar and currently reside in Block C of the Kutupalong camp.
Lt. Colonel SM Khairul Alam, a senior BGB official, stated that the pills were hidden inside personal belongings. He added that surveillance and search operations will continue to curb narcotics trafficking in the region.
Second Case: Youth Arrested with 120,000 Yaba Pills
In an earlier operation on 21 June, a 19-year-old Rohingya man, Md. Shahid, was arrested with 120,000 yaba pills in the Jamal Ghe area of Naikhongchhari.
Md. Shahid is the son of Hossain Ahmed and resides in Block B, House 74 of Camp-8 in Ukhiya.
Authorities believe the pills were being smuggled across the border into Bangladesh. All three individuals are now in custody, and legal proceedings are underway.
Security agencies continue to express concern over the use of Rohingya refugee camps as transit points for cross-border drug smuggling, often involving vulnerable individuals.
Officials reaffirmed their commitment to increased monitoring, coordinated intelligence sharing, and awareness efforts to prevent narcotics from further endangering lives within the camps and beyond.
