2 Rohingyas detained with 10,000 yaba pills in Savar

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has detained two Rohingyas impersonating as hijras along with 10,300 yaba pills in Savar.

A team of RAB-4 arrested them from Savar New Market area on Friday (29 September) morning, RAB said in a press release. The detainees are Rafiq, 18, and Mamunur, 23, who are residents of two different Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar. According to RAB, Rafiq and Mamunur identified themselves as Kajal Hijra and Porimoni Hijra and had been peddling Yaba for a long time.

Both of them have admitted to be Rohingya in the initial interrogation, RAB said. Savar Model police station Officer-in-Charge Deepak Chandra Saha said RAB handed over the detainees to the police and filed a case against them under the Narcotics Control Act. 

The involvement of Rohingya refugees in the drug business in Bangladesh is a growing concern, with recent reports of Rohingya gangs being involved in drug trafficking and smuggling. In July 2023, police in Cox's Bazar arrested 11 Rohingya men and women for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking. The suspects were found with 100,000 yaba pills, worth around Tk 10 million.

In June 2023, a Rohingya man was arrested in Teknaf for allegedly smuggling yaba pills into Bangladesh from Myanmar. The suspect was found with 50,000 yaba pills hidden in his bag.

In May 2023, police in Chittagong arrested a Rohingya woman for her alleged involvement in drug trafficking. The suspect was found with 25,000 yaba pills hidden in her clothes.

Experts say that there are a number of factors that are driving Rohingyas into the drug business. These include poverty, exploitation, and lack of opportunities.The Bangladeshi government is working to address the problem of Rohingya involvement in the drug business. 

They have launched a number of initiatives to provide the refugees with better education and job opportunities.