Advertisement
Asian Angle | Smokescreen Rohingya: the bad actors exploiting a growing refugee crisis
- In the past year, thousands of aid workers have flocked to refugee camps in southeastern Bangladesh. So have traffickers, criminals and corrupt police
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0

Since the latest influx of Rohingya refugees began in August 2017, more than 140 NGOs and aid agencies have launched operations in Cox’s Bazar, with thousands of aid workers in tow.
Many of those arriving to help are Bangladeshi nationals, coming from other parts of the country solely to deliver relief to the 900,000 Rohingya living in camps across the district.
A lack of resources, confusing government policies and the monsoon season have complicated the relief effort, but the security environment in the area remains one of the most frustrating obstacles.
Just north of the border with Myanmar, Cox’s Bazar is part of an established drug smuggling route. Criminal gangs import yaba pills, made of cheap methamphetamine mixed with caffeine and other stimulants, from Myanmar’s Shan state into distribution channels spanning Bangladesh, Nepal and India.

The fresh influx of refugees has provided drug traffickers with the opportunity to expand their imports, either by using the Rohingya as mules or by posing as refugees themselves.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2-3x faster
1.1x
220 WPM
Slow
Normal
Fast
1.1x