Syed Shemul Parvez :
Drug business, including Yaba-Ice and many new foreign drugs, is continued across the country despite regular anti-drug drives and heavy crackdown by the different law enforcing agencies.
It is noted that different agencies and forces have been raiding the anti-narcotics drives under the supervision of the security services division at the home ministry to go by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s policy of zero tolerance on illegal drugs since long before.
Most surprising matter is that the members of the law enforcement agencies are also being involved with this crime?
It is known that to carry on this trade, the gang syndicate is adopting many new strategy and technique to avoid the government rigid initiatives like zero tolerance.
Escaping eyes of law enforcers, drug traders were bringing consignments of various drugs, including Yaba, phensidyl and cannabis, to Dhaka from border areas by trucks, ambulances and other vehicles in the name of transporting emergency goods.
As a result, number of addicted people is increasing and youth are becoming more addicted to drugs easily.
Experts fear if it cannot be controlled now, social values will crumble, criminal activities will increase, corruption will spread and the law and order situation will worsen in the country. Without reducing demand, it is not possible to reduce drug supply, experts said.
Sources said, the drug mainly comes to Bangladesh from neighbouring India and Myanmar by land and sea routes.
Huge numbers of drugs come from India without any difficulty as Bangladesh shares border with India on three sides.
Not only yaba and hemp, nowadays some international drugs like crystal meth, also known as Ice, devil breaths and cocaine are coming to Bangladesh those are more dangerous than yaba.
According to sources, at least13, 68,472 drug traders have been arrested in 10,76,383 cases and seized 36, 14,17097 yaba pills, 3946.452 kg Heroin, 62.919 kg cocaine, 348.299 KG Opium (kg) and 853423.3 hemp from 2009 to November 2023 by all agencies joint team (including Directorate of Narcotics Control, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Border Guard, Rapid Action Battalion and Bangladesh Coast Guard) drives.
Besides, 1,16,903 drug dealers have been arrested over 114811 cases in 237158 mobile courts drives conducted by the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) from 2009 to November 2023.
Recently, the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) seized 8.3 kilograms of cocaine, the largest such consignment seized in the country’s history, from the capital’s Shahjalal International Airport.
The contraband was being carried by a Malawian woman, Nomthendajo Tawera Soko, 35, who entered Bangladesh from the African country of Ethiopia, said Director (Operations) of DNC Tanvir Momtaz at a press on 25 January.
Earlier in 2023, a team of Detective Branch of police have seized a new drug “Scopolamine”, also known as “Devil’s breath”, and arrested two from Narayanganj for their involvement in selling the drug on an online platform.
Based on intelligence information, BGB officials said there are about 12 yaba factories on the Indian borders line which are used to send the drugs easily to Bangladesh.
Though the Teknaf (the regular entry point) recently being in the focus, the drug smugglers have now also made Rowmari upazila of Kurigram their preferred entry point.
According to intelligence reports, yaba pills come from Myanmar and enter through the Indian states of Assam and Meghalaya.
The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) has listed nearly 3,500 “drug traders” in a bid to curb the trade of illegal substances. Even DNC has already traced 15 drug trafficking routes connecting to Myanmar.
An investigative research on drug trafficking routes by the DNC claims that several dishonest members of Bangladesh’s law enforcement agencies receive huge amount of taka from the drug dealers and help them in drug trafficking. That is why drug dealers can transfer illegal narcotics without any kind of difficulties.
In this regard when asked, RAB Legal and Media Wing Director Commander Khandaker Al Moin told The New Nation that actually it is not possible to stop drug trade only conducting various drives by the members of law enforcement. Besides our drives, common people have to come forwards to stop this business adopting some social awareness programme.
Without reducing demand, our drives and efforts will not be effective, RAB officials added.
About the booming of drug, Dr. Khandaker Farhana Rahman, Associate professor of Criminology Department, University of Dhaka, told The New Nation that demand of drug is main fact here. If demand stays, drug will submerge the country somehow. In this case, no control drives or other initiatives will be effective.
Our educational institutions like school, college and Madrasha have to work undertaking social awareness and ensuring psychologists in the school for conducting regular mental treatment of the student. All political parties including its student wings have to work to smash the evils.
As this drug trade is considered one of the big problems of the country, so all of the people have to cooperate with the government to decrease the demand and supply, Dr. Farhana Rahman added.
