Bangladesh Coast Guard seized 7 lakh Yaba pills from the deep sea off the coast of St. Martin’s Island in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar on Tuesday.

Lt Commander Abdur Rahman, a media officer at the Bangladesh Coast Guard headquarters, said the operation was carried out in the Southeast Bay of Bengal, 1.5 nautical miles off the coast of St. Martin’s Island of Teknaf Upazila around 2:00 am on Tuesday.

He said a Coast Guard team conducted an operation early Tuesday after reports of a large shipment of drugs smuggled from Myanmar through the Southeast Sea off the coast of St. Martin’s Island.

During the drive, a wooden boat was seen entering the Bangladesh territory from the border of Myanmar, approximately 1.5 nautical miles Southeast of St. Martin's Island.

Coast Guard members signalled the boat to stop as its movements seemed suspicious. Sensing the presence of the Coast Guard, the boat quickly fled to the Myanmar border.

Later, when the Coast Guard members gave chase, the people in the boat threw some sacks into the water and fled into the interior of Myanmar.

Meanwhile, 10 polythene-wrapped sacks were found floating in the sea thrown by the smugglers. The sacks were opened to find 7 lakh yaba.