Refugees recruited as meth mules as drug trade forges unlikely link between Rohingya and Myanmar troops
Drug seizures in Bangladesh camps are skyrocketing, as organised crime gangs recruit from the vast pool of cheap and expendable labour
Huge quantities of meth are seeding unrest inside Bangladesh’s refugee camps, as jobless Rohingya turn drug runners for a criminal chain that stretches back to Myanmar – and the soldiers who drove them out.
The little red methamphetamine pills, better known as yaba, that have got Southeast Asia high for decades are pouring westwards from Myanmar.
Rohingya refugees are moving them across Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, which hosts around one million of their stateless Muslim minority.
And drug money is bringing new problems to an already traumatised refugee community.
Bangladesh authorities warn shootings, extortion and kidnappings linked to drug disputes are on the rise, adding another layer of complexity and danger to life in the seething camps.
“Many young men are falling into the drug lords’ trap,” said Abdus Salam, a Rohingya community leader in the Shamlapur refugee camp.
“It’s very easy to exploit refugees.”