Dhaka: Drug trafficking through Rakhine - typically following the route from eastern Myanmar via Maungdaw and Buthidaung to Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar - looks to have 'increased significantly' in recent years.

In 2016, huge drugs - mainly methamphetamine or 'Yaba' - were confiscated by Myanmar officials along the border with Bangladesh.

The 63-page final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State titled 'Towards a peaceful, fair and prosperous future for the people of Rakhine' came up with the worrying scenario.

In Bangladesh, the Commission met government officials in Dhaka and visited various refugee camps in Cox's Bazar.

In its law enforcement efforts, the Myanmar government should not only focus on users or low-level dealers but concentrate its efforts on identifying and prosecuting major producers and drug barons, according to the report a copy of which obtained by UNB.

During the Commission's visits to Rakhine State, people from all communities expressed 'serious concern' about the growing problem, which significantly increases their vulnerabilities, the report says.

It reveals that poverty and poor social services may serve as important drivers encouraging people to engage in drugs-related crime or to use drugs themselves.

After one year of consultations held across Rakhine State and in other parts of the country and the region, the Advisory Commission led by former UN chief Kofi Annan submitted its final report to the President and State Counsellor of Myanmar.

It observed that drugs production and trafficking have fuelled violent conflicts in Myanmar for many years.

Also in Rakhine, drug smuggling is reportedly funding the activities of non-state armed groups, such as the Arakan Army (AA) and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).

Even government officials are accused of facilitating drug trade, which further contributes to the sense of lawlessness along the border with Bangladesh, reads the report.

The challenges posed by the trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs in Rakhine State are growing and warrant urgent national attention.

The Commission encouraged the ongoing policy discussions as well as the debate on changes to the 1993 law on drugs and psychotropic substances. It asked the government of Myanmar to adopt a holistic anti-drugs approach based on public health, community safety, human rights and development.

As illegal activities tend to thrive in the areas of conflict, the government should strive towards the social, economic and political inclusion of the Muslim community in northern Rakhine State, the Commission recommended.

As such, the government should seek to increase access to public services, and increase livelihood opportunities by removing restrictions on movement.

The Commission asked the government of Myanmar to strengthen health and harm reduction services for drug users, and ensure that the use of such services is voluntary one. "The government should intensify its efforts to combat corruption within the security agencies operating along the Myanmar-Bangladeshi border," it said.

Besides, the northern part of the state has become a major transit hub for drugs smuggling, aggravating the sense of lawlessness and insecurity along the border with Bangladesh, the report mentions.

It says unless current challenges are addressed promptly, further radicalisation within both communities is a real risk.

While Myanmar has every right to defend its own territory, a highly militarised response is unlikely to bring peace to the area, it further says.

What is needed is a calibrated approach - one that combines political, developmental, security and human rights responses to ensure that violence does not escalate and inter-communal tensions are kept under control, it said.

"If the legitimate grievances of local populations are ignored, they will become more vulnerable to recruitment by extremists. Addressing the development and human rights crises will help address the security crisis," said the report.