Coast Guards members yesterday recovered seven lakh pieces of contraband yaba pills from a boat in the Naf River of Teknaf early yesterday.

The boat was also seized, said Lt Sohel Rana, station commander of Teknaf Coast Guard.

Tipped off that a large consignment of yaba from Myanmar was entering into Bangladesh’s territory, a Coast Guard team took position in the Naf River around 12:00am, the official said.  

Later in the night, when a boat entered the maritime boundary of Bangladesh and approached the coast, the Coast Guard team signalled the boat to stop. 

In response, the smugglers sank the boat and swam away, he added. 

Later, the coast guards conducted a search and recovered the yaba pills from the boat, the station commander added.

A case will be filed with Teknaf Police Station in this connection, he said.

Meanwhile, police yesterday arrested Teknaf Union Parishad Chairman Sahjahan Mia while he was travelling to India through Beanpole land border. 

Sahjahan is accused in multiple drugs cases filed with Teknaf Police Station in Cox’s Bazar, said Khairul Islam, Sub-Inspector of Benapole Immigration Police.

“He was banned from travelling abroad and detained while traveling to India via Benapole Immigration,” the official said, adding that they had handed him over to Benapole Port Police Station.

Our Cox’s Bazar and Benapole correspondents contributed to this report.