3,500 drug traffickers in Dhaka division alone: Narcotics Department

The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) has said there are 3,500 drug traffickers, including patrons, investors and peddlers, in the Dhaka division alone.

Two months ago the department made an updated list with the help of intelligence and local sources and launched a crackdown on drug traffickers, DNC said at a press conference held at the DNC Dhaka Metro North office on Friday afternoon.

DNC Dhaka Division Head and Additional Director Fazlur Rahman Fazlur Rahman said, "The list contains people ranging from influential politicians to root level peddlers. The department had earlier compiled a list of drug traffickers. This list has recently been updated. At present, the operation is going on to arrest them."

"When we find any name for suspected involvement in the drugs business, we tend to verify the names from three-four sources. We do not include names abruptly," said Fazlur.

He also said DNC's manpower and other capacities to conduct such operations has increased. As a result, the number of drives has increased too. The list of people involved in the drugs business is regularly updated.

'It is obvious that we would not be able to take legal actions against all on the list simultaneously, but we have been keeping eyes on them," the DNC officer said.

Earlier on 11 August, DNC arrested 10 people with crystal meth and yaba pills from Banani and Basundhara area in the capital. With clues from the group, the anti-narcotics officials continued their vigilance and arrested five more from Vatara, Gulshan and Ramna on Thursday.

The arrestees are Jakaria Ahmed, Tarek Ahmed, Saddam Hossain, Shahidul Islam and Jasim Uddin.

DNC also seized 560 grams meth and 1,200 yaba pills, which DNC assistant director Mehedi Hasan claimed to be "the largest amount of meth seizure in the capital".

He said that the arrested have been carrying meth and yaba from Cox's Bazar. Those were smuggled to Bangladesh from Myanmar.