Joynal Abedin Khan :
The drug addiction issue has become a national concern as millions of people, specially youths, are being addicted due to easy availability of drug across the country.
Around 10 million drug users in Bangladesh spend over Tk700m every day on illegal narcotics, intelligence sources said.
According to a recent survey of World Health Organization (WHO), more than seven million people are addicted to drug in Bangladesh and most users are young, ranging from 18 to 30 years.
At lest 95.4pc users were smokers while 85.7pc got into drugs under the influence of friends and 65.8pc were addicted to various codeine-containing cough syrups, the report said.
According to report, “Heroin is the deadliest of drugs in Bangladesh. In recent times, Yaba has gained popularity and has become a ‘fashionable’ drug. Cough syrup Phensidyl has remained the most popular because of its low price and easy availability.”
The members of law enforcing agencies and authorities have filed 2,20,000 cases against 3,23,000 people in connection with drug in last five years, Md. Bazlur Rashid, Director General Department of Narcotic Control told the New Nation on Thursday.
“About 52,000 cases are under trial while over 10,000 cased settled. More than 10,000 criminals were punished by judicial courts and around 11,000 offenders, punished by mobile courts” the DG said.
At least 26 crore of Yaba pills were sold in 2014 while four crore in 2010, DNC official sources said.
Meanwhile 65,12,00 Yaba pills were also seized by law enforcing agencies in 2014 while the amount of seizure pills were 1,29,000 in 2009, they said.
More than 100,000 people were directly involved with illegal drug trade and supplying the drugs, they further said.
They also said, “Members of law enforcing agencies and political parties leaders and activists are involved with drug addiction, smuggling and illegal business.”
In the meantime, a separate study conducted by the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition (JHPN) of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, (ICDDR,B) showed that in the capital, 87pc of the users were males and 13pc females.
The JHPN study found that 64.8pc of the drug users in the country were unmarried, while 56.1pc were either students or unemployed.
95.4pc users were smokers; 85.7pc got into drugs under the influence of friends; 65.8pc were addicted to various codeine-containing cough syrups.
State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Friday categorically said incumbent government was following principles of zero tolerance to control the use and misuse of drug.
He came up with the observations while addressing a view exchange meeting, organized by DNC on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in city at noon.
The minister has warned that none involved in drug trading would be spared as the government showed ‘zero tolerance’ against illegal drug use.
“We won’t spare drug dealers whatever the party they belong to. Those involved with drug trading out of greed will be brought to justice. The government adopted zero tolerance policy against illegal drug use,” said the junior home boss at a discussion and prize giving ceremony in the capital on Friday.
Department of Narcotics Control organized the programme at Osmani Memorial Auditorium marking International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
According to the Narcotics Control Act 1990, one of the main goals of the DNC was to ensure treatment and rehabilitation of the drug addicts in the country, said Md Bazlur Rashid,
The department, however, has only four rehabilitation centres in the country with an aggregate capacity of 533 people at a time, he said.
Besides, the department has been facing an acute shortage of manpower with only one official for every 250,000 people and many posts remaining vacant, DNC boss said.
“Three strategies for combating drug abuse are controlling the supply of drugs, curbing the number of addicts and checking the harmful effects of drug abuse,” he said.
“We are also jointly working with our partner NGOs, schools and colleges to cut down on the demand for drugs.”
The DNC Additional Director Nazrul Islam said, “Peddlers prefer women and children for carrying and selling drugs because it is easier for them to evade law enforcers. Children are particularly preferred because the laws of the country are lenient for them and they can be engaged for small payments.”
Colonel Khalequzzaman, the BGB commander in Cox’s Bazaar, told VICE News that a few years ago Yaba traffickers used land routes around the Naaf River, which runs across the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, to smuggle the drug into the country.
With DNC Director General Md. Bazlur Rahman in the chair, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Tipu Munshi, MP, and Senior Secretary of the ministry Mozammel Haque, among others, addressed the meeting.
The drug addiction issue has become a national concern as millions of people, specially youths, are being addicted due to easy availability of drug across the country.
Around 10 million drug users in Bangladesh spend over Tk700m every day on illegal narcotics, intelligence sources said.
According to a recent survey of World Health Organization (WHO), more than seven million people are addicted to drug in Bangladesh and most users are young, ranging from 18 to 30 years.
At lest 95.4pc users were smokers while 85.7pc got into drugs under the influence of friends and 65.8pc were addicted to various codeine-containing cough syrups, the report said.
According to report, “Heroin is the deadliest of drugs in Bangladesh. In recent times, Yaba has gained popularity and has become a ‘fashionable’ drug. Cough syrup Phensidyl has remained the most popular because of its low price and easy availability.”
The members of law enforcing agencies and authorities have filed 2,20,000 cases against 3,23,000 people in connection with drug in last five years, Md. Bazlur Rashid, Director General Department of Narcotic Control told the New Nation on Thursday.
“About 52,000 cases are under trial while over 10,000 cased settled. More than 10,000 criminals were punished by judicial courts and around 11,000 offenders, punished by mobile courts” the DG said.
At least 26 crore of Yaba pills were sold in 2014 while four crore in 2010, DNC official sources said.
Meanwhile 65,12,00 Yaba pills were also seized by law enforcing agencies in 2014 while the amount of seizure pills were 1,29,000 in 2009, they said.
More than 100,000 people were directly involved with illegal drug trade and supplying the drugs, they further said.
They also said, “Members of law enforcing agencies and political parties leaders and activists are involved with drug addiction, smuggling and illegal business.”
In the meantime, a separate study conducted by the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition (JHPN) of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, (ICDDR,B) showed that in the capital, 87pc of the users were males and 13pc females.
The JHPN study found that 64.8pc of the drug users in the country were unmarried, while 56.1pc were either students or unemployed.
95.4pc users were smokers; 85.7pc got into drugs under the influence of friends; 65.8pc were addicted to various codeine-containing cough syrups.
State Minister for Home Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Friday categorically said incumbent government was following principles of zero tolerance to control the use and misuse of drug.
He came up with the observations while addressing a view exchange meeting, organized by DNC on the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, held at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in city at noon.
The minister has warned that none involved in drug trading would be spared as the government showed ‘zero tolerance’ against illegal drug use.
“We won’t spare drug dealers whatever the party they belong to. Those involved with drug trading out of greed will be brought to justice. The government adopted zero tolerance policy against illegal drug use,” said the junior home boss at a discussion and prize giving ceremony in the capital on Friday.
Department of Narcotics Control organized the programme at Osmani Memorial Auditorium marking International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
According to the Narcotics Control Act 1990, one of the main goals of the DNC was to ensure treatment and rehabilitation of the drug addicts in the country, said Md Bazlur Rashid,
The department, however, has only four rehabilitation centres in the country with an aggregate capacity of 533 people at a time, he said.
Besides, the department has been facing an acute shortage of manpower with only one official for every 250,000 people and many posts remaining vacant, DNC boss said.
“Three strategies for combating drug abuse are controlling the supply of drugs, curbing the number of addicts and checking the harmful effects of drug abuse,” he said.
“We are also jointly working with our partner NGOs, schools and colleges to cut down on the demand for drugs.”
The DNC Additional Director Nazrul Islam said, “Peddlers prefer women and children for carrying and selling drugs because it is easier for them to evade law enforcers. Children are particularly preferred because the laws of the country are lenient for them and they can be engaged for small payments.”
Colonel Khalequzzaman, the BGB commander in Cox’s Bazaar, told VICE News that a few years ago Yaba traffickers used land routes around the Naaf River, which runs across the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, to smuggle the drug into the country.
With DNC Director General Md. Bazlur Rahman in the chair, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Tipu Munshi, MP, and Senior Secretary of the ministry Mozammel Haque, among others, addressed the meeting.
