Shawdesh dEsk:

Yaba, the most popular illegal drug which dominated the country’s narcotic market until recently, is now losing its place to crystal methamphetamine or Ice, a highly addictive drug that affects the central nervous system.

A sharp rise in Ice smuggling suggests that the demand for the drug is increasing fast.

Large consignments of Ice are entering the country from Myanmar through the Yaba route of Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar. Law enforcement agencies have been put on alert due to a rise in trade and use of the drug.

Mehedi Hasan, assistant director (Dhaka Metro North) of the Department of Narcotic Control, said, “All the consignments of Ice that we’ve seized have been found in possession of upper-class children. Some of them used to take Yaba first, then they started consuming Ice. Some of them started Ice business to make quick bucks.”

“However, we continue our activities through intelligence surveillance. Anyone involved in the drug trade will be brought under the law as soon as the information is received,” he added.

Although initially referred to as an elite drug, Ice is slowly gaining popularity among general drug users in the country. Children of rich families, businessmen and people of various professions are drowning in the intoxication of the drug.

Several gangs are now active in Dhanmondi, Gulshan, Banani and Uttara of the capital to boost the Ice market. Despite the special surveillance by the law enforcement agencies, the situation has reached such a level that now the consumers can buy the drug item by only raising their hands.

On October 16 last year, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members seized 5 kg of crystal meth in Dhaka, in the biggest haul of the drug in the country.

Law enforcers fear that if smuggling cannot be prevented right now, the drug which causes 20 times more reaction than Yaba may become as widespread as Yaba among the general consumers.

According to multiple sources in the law enforcement agencies, since the introduction of Ice in the country in 2018, groups taking the drug were created in Dhaka, Chattogram and other urban areas.

At least 20 gangs have been formed in the capital alone to spread crystal meth. They are targeting high-class people and encouraging them to take crystal meth.

Experts said Ice, which is a combination of methamphetamine and caffeine, generates tremendous stimulation in a short period of time after consumption. The drug can be smoked, snorted, swallowed, or injected and while the effect is instant euphoria, the damage is lasting.

Earlier, many people arrested by the law enforcement agencies were released on bail and they are doing the same crystal meth business again. Law enforcement agencies are struggling to arrest the gangsters as they are secretly trading in crystal meth.

It came to know that the multiple consumption techniques of crystal meth are attracting more new users. And taking the advantage of this opportunity, many Yaba traders have switched to crystal meth business. They are bringing crystal meth from Myanmar through the Yaba route.

Moshiur Rahman, deputy commissioner (Detective Branch, Gulshan Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said Yaba contains 8-10 percent amphetamine while Ice 75-80 percent. In other words, Ice is the purest form.

Once it was used to be shipped by air from Central Asia, but now it has started coming through the Yaba route. If this continues, the consequences will be the same of Yaba as law enforcement agencies failed to eradicate Yaba, he said.

However, Ice is yet to be spread throughout the country. Dhanmondi, Gulshan and Uttara areas are limited to the affluent class, Moshiur said. “If the shipments cannot be stopped right now, the price of the drug will decrease and the number of users will increase. Then there’ll be a risk of flooding even among the common people.” he added.

The police official said, “If shipments continue to enter the country through the border, there’ll be of no use no matter how many arrests we make in the capital or its surroundings. As far as I know Myanmar is producing Ice nationally. It must stop production under international pressure.”

“Besides, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Bangladesh Coast Guard will have to take measures to stop shipments at the border. Awareness by parents is also very important to eradicate Ice. Or else, it won’t be possible to control the menace,” he added.

RAB said the shipment of Ice is increasing for two reasons — transportation facilities and the drug is little more addictive. Since the drug is coming through Teknaf border in Cox’s Bazar, RAB-15 is working hard on it.

In the meantime, several large shipments have also been seized.

In 2018, law enforcement officials busted the first Ice lab in Bangladesh in Dhaka’s Jigatala and arrested Hasib Bin Muammar Rashid.

On January 21, BGB seized 5 kg of crystal methamphetamine worth Tk 25 crore in Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar, joint largest haul of crystal meth in the country.

On January 22, the border guards detained two suspected drug smugglers in Cox’s Bazar and seized 1 kg of crystal meth worth Tk 5 crore from their possession.