The authorities should acknowledge their tactics have failed
Mohammadpur Geneva Camp's drug lord Ishtiaq Ahmed is reportedly back in the drug game at the highest level. After a hiatus of around two years—after the anti-narcotics crackdown began in 2018—the big-time narcotics dealer has reclaimed his throne in one of the worst drug infested areas of Dhaka city.
According to police intelligence, over 90,000 pills are sold daily in the Mohammadpur area. And out of the 150 cases that are filed with Mohammadpur Police Station per month, around 75 are narcotics cases related to the Geneva Camp area. Therefore, Ahmed's gang, which he managed to rebuild since some of his associates were arrested following the beginning of the anti-narcotics drive, continues to have a big influence on the city's drug scene.
The main reason for his success in rebuilding his empire has been the backing he receives from corrupt law enforcers—who are on his payroll—and a top underworld criminal who had got a life term but came out of jail recently, according to intelligence and camp sources. Reportedly, Ishtiaq's men give Tk 8-10 thousand to some officers at Mohammadpur Police Station every night and Tk 75 thousand to detectives every week to run his business without hindrance. Last month, Ahmed even felt safe enough to return to the country and is now running his business from India, having reorganised his gang.
With the massive wealth he amassed, Ishtiaq has over 100 bighas of land in Savar and Ashulia, and cases against him are pending with the Anti-Corruption Commission. However, the question remains on how Ishtiaq managed to become so powerful in the first place. It is clear, given his background as a ragpicker, that Ishtiaq had to have the backing of powerful individuals in his bid to become a big-time drug dealer. And it is similar backing from unscrupulous law enforcers and others that has allowed him to return to the top of the drug running industry.
Given this reality, we cannot help but ask what the anti-narcotics drive has achieved. Except for claiming over 400 lives, has it really achieved anything?
The fact remains that killing small time yaba carriers in suspicious "gunfights" will not slow down the supply of drugs in any shape or form. The only way the drug menace can be overcome—from the supply side of it—is through the arrest and prosecution of big-time drug dealers and masterminds, such as Ishtiaq Ahmed. At the same time, crooked law enforcers and politicians such as the ones shielding him must also be brought to book.
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