Cox's Bazar Correspondent

In a major anti-narcotics operation, the Bangladesh Coast Guard detained two drug traffickers and seized 200,000 Yaba tablets worth approximately Tk 10 crore along with an engine-driven wooden boat in the Naf River under Teknaf upazila of Cox's Bazar district on Wednesday morning.

Coast Guard Media Officer Lieutenant Commander Sabbir Alam Suzan confirmed the details in a press statement released on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Coast Guard official, acting on a secret tip-off regarding a large consignment of Yaba entering Bangladesh from Myanmar via the Naf River, intelligence surveillance and patrol activities were intensified in the border area.

Based on the intelligence, a team from BCG Station Teknaf launched a special three-hour operation in the Naf River between 6:00 AM and 9:00 AM on Wednesday.

During the drive, the operational team signaled a suspicious engine-driven wooden boat to stop. Ignoring the signal, the boat tried to flee. Coast Guard personnel chased the vessel and intercepted it in the Naf River area adjacent to Sabrang Alogola Jora.

A subsequent search of the boat led to the recovery of 200,000 Yaba tablets valued at around Tk 10 crore. Two drug traffickers aboard were detained, and the boat used in the smuggling operation was seized.

Lieutenant Commander Arafat Hossain, (X), BN, Station Commander of BCG Station Teknaf, provided the primary operational briefing on the drive.

"The Bangladesh Coast Guard plays a crucial role in maintaining overall security, law and order, and preventing smuggling, human trafficking, and drug trades in coastal and riverine areas,"

He added that Coast Guard intelligence surveillance and special operations remain ongoing to identify and apprehend other associates involved in the racket.

Legal proceedings regarding the seized Yaba tablets, the boat, and the detained individuals have been taken.