Methamphetamine in Bangladesh is an illegal substance that is often consumed in the form of
Yaba. Yaba is a drug made by combining methamphetamine and caffeine. They are sold as colorful pills.
There are three forms of Yaba in Bangladesh, they are R-7, Controller, and Champa.
History
According to the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...
, Myanmar is believed to be the main origin point of Yaba in South-East Asia and the Mekong region including in Bangladesh. Drug gangs in Myanmar shifted from Heroin to Methamphetamine manufacturing in the late 1990s. Bangladesh shares a
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
with Myanmar.
Cooperation between
Border Guards Bangladesh
Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...
and Myanmar
Border Guard Police is limited, according to Border Guards Bangladesh the Border Guard Police do not receive nine out of ten of their calls.
The majority of drugs entered Bangladesh through the border at
Teknaf. The Usage of Yaba started to become popular in Bangladesh from 2006. In 2010, law enforcement seized 84 thousand yaba pills in Bangladesh, which rose to 29.5 million pills seized in 2016.
Bangladesh government officials estimated that the trade in Yaba was worth US$3 billion in 2016. According to the
Department of Narcotic Control the main consumers of the drugs are students.
According to the Director General of the Narcotics Control Board, Md Jamal Uddin Ahmed, there are 7 million drug addicts in Bangladesh of whom 5 million are addicted to Yaba. The trade in Yaba increased during the
Rohingya refugee crises, the influx of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar also increases the influx of Yaba into Bangladesh. Yaba bought in Myanmar for 40 cent a pill can be sold for 3-4 dollar in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
In May 2018, Bangladesh launched a massive anti-narcotics crackdown that was modeled on the
Philippines drug crackdown in which more than 211 people were killed in shootout with law enforcement.
Security services Arrested hundreds of suspects in a span of few days. The crackdown has been criticised by
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
and
The Daily Star for alleged extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses by law enforcement.
Legislation
The
Department of Narcotic Control is the main government agency responsible for the regulation of drugs in Bangladesh. According to the Department of Narcotic Control, the government of Bangladesh maintains 12 drug rehabilitation centres.
The Narcotics Control Act 2019 is one of the laws that regulate narcotics in Bangladesh.
In 2017, Bangladesh banned the import of
pseudoephedrine, a component of cold medicine that is used to manufacture amphetamines.
See also
*
Bangladesh Drug War
References
{{Methamphetamine
Drugs in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...