DHAKA - A senior Bangladesh army officer has been jailed and sacked for carrying hundreds of bottles of illegal cough syrup - a popular drug in the south Asian country, an official said Wednesday.

Major Reza Shah Mohammad Zillullah was arrested in a northern district by police in July with 780 bottles of the syrup, which is locally called Phensidyl, and was tried by a military court, an army spokesman said.

"He was court martialed and was found guilty. He has been sacked and sentenced to one year in jail," the spokesman told AFP.

Drug addiction, particularly to Phensidyl, which contains the painkiller codeine, is on the rise in Bangladesh, spawning a lucrative cross-border smuggling trade.

Made in India, Phensidyl was first introduced to Bangladesh in 1980s and fast became popular among the youths in the country, where alcohol is generally illegal.

Successive governments have tried to curb Phensidyl smuggling and urged Indian authorities to tackle scores of illegal syrup makers who set up factories across the border to meet demand in Bangladesh.