Drug trading booming across country adopting new strategy

Syed Shemul Parvez :
Drug business and trafficking is booming and continues across the country including the capital despite regular anti-drug drives and heavy crackdown by the different law enforcing agencies.
It is known that to carry on this trade, the gang syndicate is adopting new strategy and technique to avoid government rigid initiatives. As a result, number of addicted people is increasing regularly. According to research, 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.
According to sources, 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 are coming, nowadays some international drugs like crystal meth, which is more dangerous than yaba, is coming and that is a new concern for the country.
Meanwhile, 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, Chairman 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.