LATEST reports revealed that a syndicate consisting of some unscrupulous policemen were involved in Yaba smuggling on Cox’s Bazar-Dhaka route for at least a year. Members of Special Branch (SB) of Police in Dhaka, Chittagong District Range Police, and Detective Branch (DB) of Police in Cox’s Bazar were using their professional identity as shield for their illicit trade, according to RAB officials. The discovery was made when RAB-7 seized a large consignment of Yaba pills and arrested an ASI of SB, Dhaka, when his car carrying Yaba pills was involved in a traffic accident. The reports added that he was shipping around 6.8 lakh of the pills, worth Tk 27.20 crore on the street and that he got the consignment from SI Belal of Cox’s Bazar DB on Saturday. The SI-in-Charge of Kumira Camp of Chittagong District Highway Police, told the arrested officer to carry the pills and when questioned, denied his involvement. RAB-7 also seized Tk seven lakh, four mobile phones, eight ATM cards and three notebooks from the officer’s car and names of 14 people from whom the officer took around Tk 28.44 crore in advance for Yaba smuggling was found in the notebooks. Apparently the officer owns a two-storey building and 10 to 12 shops at Shanir Akhra near the capital as well as three shops in Gulistan area. The State Minister for Home Affairs said that action would be taken against the accused as per the Police Law.This shocking revelation proves the existence of corruption in the country’s police forces and shows how some of our law enforcers provide an environment in which organised crime like drug trafficking can flourish. Unscrupulous police officers engage in drug trafficking activities due to substantially low salaries and incentives which results in undermining their effectiveness and desire to work in the public interest. It is no wonder that the credibility of the police as law enforcers have weakened and lawlessness has increased in society. The tragic truth is that when institutions like the police are tasked with protecting our rights and instead of preventing corruption with integrity certain of their members engage in it by drug trafficking, it is the citizens who ultimately suffer. Police must be saved urgently from the situation of politicization. It is the politicization of police that has undermined police morality and departmental discipline. It has become natural for police to believe that they are also in politics and like politicians in power they are also entitled to certain impunity and unaccountability. Police have close relationship with the politicians in power and that makes them vital partners of the politicians and political leaders. The police must not be playing political role and be partners in politics. Police are found engaged in all sorts of crime including rape, murder, human trafficking and drug trading. Police must be saved as independent law enforcers.
