The Bangladesh Coast Guard seized 410,000 yaba tablets, with an estimated market value of Tk 20.5 crore, in an operation on the Naf River in Teknaf, but made no arrests, it said.
The force said in a press release on Sunday that it had stepped up intelligence surveillance and patrols after receiving a tip that a large consignment of yaba would enter Bangladesh from Myanmar via the Naf River. A special operation was conducted on the river between 9pm and midnight on Saturday.
During the operation, a team signalled a suspicious engine-powered wooden boat to stop near Nazirpara, under Teknaf police station. Sensing the Coast Guard’s presence, the traffickers on board fled into Myanmar’s waters. The team then searched four polythene-wrapped packets floating in the river and recovered the tablets.
Lt Cdr Sabbir Alam Sujon, the Coast Guard’s media officer, said legal proceedings relating to the seized yaba were under way.