What Prevents Us From Stopping the Infiltration of Drugs?

Abuse of drugs poses a serious threat to peace, prosperity, health, and security throughout the world, and it also distorts the bonding of the whole social structure. There is no way to protect any nation from the curse of drugs. Bangladesh is situated in a crucial location, very close to two major drug-producing and trafficking belts: the Golden Crescent and the Golden Triangle.

It is very tough to ignore that such a geographical location is by far responsible for drug inflows into our soil. This unhygienic issue is escalating across the country as well as around the globe due to illicit gains. It is very important to iron out this menace to build a drug-free nation for our next generation. Drug abuse is causing social unrest and criminal tendencies, as well as serious impediments to human resource development.

The drug problem is continuing to have a grave impact on the world community, causing immense suffering ranging from individuals to state concerns, especially by putting pressure on the health system, crippling development, making various setbacks, and escalating the security system. In addition, illegal financial flows related to drug trafficking and their impact on development and security have posed a vulnerability. With growing global connectivity in terms of money transfer, financial innovation, and cutting-edge technology, the threat of illicit financial flows has increased exponentially.

Drug addiction impacts the rapid erosion of educational, cultural, moral, and family values. The addicts lose their professional and educational capabilities, their self-dignity, and get involved in serious or pretty criminal activities. The sole aim of the life of an addict becomes the procurement and use of drugs. Life’s other goals and objectives fall by the wayside. Besides, dread diseases such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS can easily attack drug addicts through the use of drugs.

At present, our first and foremost concern is the influx of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), which are commonly known as yaba (methamphetamine 30% and caffeine 70%). A new dimension of ATS, the crystal methamphetamine known as crystal meth, also appeared in the scene. The Department of Narcotics Control and all concerned law-enforcing agencies are continuing to conduct operations to recover illicit drugs smuggled into Bangladesh and to arrest and prosecute criminals.

Many experts believe that Bangladesh is often used as a transit point for international drug trafficking, making the country vulnerable to drug abuse. Traffickers are making their shipments through Dhaka, Chittagong, Comilla, Khulna, and other routes in Bangladesh. So, in the near future, Bangladesh will face a disaster if the alarming drug abuse is not effectively checked through extensive motivation and prevention. Bangladesh is situated at the central point of the Golden Crescent (Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, and Iran) in terms of geographical location. Additionally, the major Asian producers of drugs are all around it, and many of them are tightening their drug laws and stepping up enforcement. Bangladesh, with its easy land, sea, and air access, is becoming a major transit point. Traffickers who supply drugs in the markets of Northern America, Africa, and Europe are making their shipments through Dhaka, Chittagong, Comilla, Khulna, Jessore, and other routes in Bangladesh. There are so many cases filed every year across the country. And the number of cases is increasing rapidly in every division.

In this region, an increasing number of drugs, in particular amphetamine (yaba) and crystal meth, are being trafficked into Bangladesh through this border area from Myanmar. In 2020, law enforcement agencies (LEA) seized 36381017 pills of yaba. In 2021, the number of yaba pills was 53073665, and in 2022, it was 45868569. A massive influx of yaba is flowing alarmingly in this region and beyond.

In 2022, data shows that seizures increased by 13.75% compared to the previous year. According to the data, the number of yaba patients who received treatment is 12756. In 2022, data shows that seizures of heroin decreased by 23.33% compared to the previous year. According to the data, the number of heroin patients who took treatment is 1438. Similarly, the seizure of cannabis increased by 33.07% in comparison with 2021, and the number of cannabis-dependent patients receiving treatment is 8459. At the same time, the seizure of codeine in 2022 increased by 22.94% compared to the previous year, and 5629 patients were admitted to hospitals for treatment in the same year. Finally, the seizure of injecting drugs is on the rise sharply, accounting for 90.59% of all patients in 2022, and the number of patients is 915.

The fundamental building blocks of anti-narcotics law are embedded in the Constitution. The Narcotics Act, 1990, was enacted in 1990, and subsequently, it was replaced by an enactment titled “The Narcotics Act, 2018 (amended in 2020)” to counter the changed atmosphere of drug dealing. This legal instrument is a special law. The following laws are applied to finally dispose of a criminal case filed under the Narcotics Control Act, 2018 (amended in 2020):

* The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1898

* The Penal Code, 1860

* The Evidence Act, 1872

* The Children Act, 2013

* The Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012

* The Digital Security Act, 2018

We must take some necessary steps to prevent the curse of drug abuse in our country. Some of them are as follows: Awareness-building: demand and supply of drugs are closely related to each other. If the demand for drugs reduces, the supply will fall, and vice versa. At present, Bangladesh must place importance on creating and increasing public awareness among the people. This is an enormous task that requires people of all classes and professions to raise their voices against drugs.

Protection of borders is a very important step to stop the infiltration of drugs. Law enforcement agencies have a prime responsibility to protect the land, sea, and air borders. Reports from the Indian Narcotics Control Bureau also indicate that heroin is smuggled from India to Bangladesh through the porous Indo-Bangladesh.

Advanced technology and sophisticated equipment are part and parcel of addressing the challenges arising from drug-related offences. To combat the challenges, we have taken on a project that is under way to equip our hands by getting the following items: a high-tech scanner for drug scanning (for all sea, air, and land ports), a hand-held drug detector, a mobile tracker, a metal detector, a mobile phone jammer, firearms, and modern drug-detecting equipment for drug testing laboratories.