Meth smuggling rose by 3 times in a year
From 2021 to 2022, the seizure of crystal meth increased by three times.
According to the Annual Drug Report of Bangladesh 2022, around 104 kilos of crystal meth were seized by all agencies last year, while the figure was 36 kilos in 2021.
Law enforcers said the drugs mainly entered Bangladesh from Myanmar, and the major market for the meth -- also known as ice -- is Dhaka.
Only 8 to 10 percent of the total smuggled narcotics is usually seized by law enforcers, and the remaining 90 percent flood the market.
A similar scenario has been witnessed regarding Phensedyl, which mainly comes from India. Around 5.74 lakh bottles of Phensedyl were seized in 2021, but that number rose to 6.71 lakh in 2022, reveals the annual report.
However, the report stated that the seizure of yaba decreased by 13.75 percent compared to 2021. Around 5.30 lakh yaba pills were seized in 2021, while it was 4.37 lakh in 2022.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal unveiled the annual report at the secretariat yesterday.
Minister Asaduzzaman said the country is heading toward a deadly disaster as a good number of youths are attracted to these drugs. "Demand and supply go together. When demand rises, supply increases as well. We are reducing both demand and supply in this case."
Tanvir Momtaz, director (operation & intelligence) of the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), said the smuggling of yaba decreased as they have managed to identify the drug routes and smuggling techniques.
"However, ice smuggling has increased as demand always remains high for new drugs among abusers," he said.
Regarding Phensedyl, Tanvir explained that it is also entering Bangladesh using new bottles and new names.
"Compared to previous years, we have increased our drives by 1.5 times. Department of Narcotics conducted over 5,000 drives last year. This year, the number of drives already crossed 8,000," said the director.
He said they are holding meetings with the neighbouring country regarding the smuggling of narcotics and cooperating with each other in this regard.
Among the drugs, the seizure of cannabis also increased by 33.07 percent in comparison to the previous year. Around 86,000 kilos of cannabis were seized in 2021. However, the amount rose to 1.04 lakh kilos in 2022.
DHAKA: A MAJOR MARKET
Analysing the seizures of narcotics, the report found that Dhaka is the major market for such drugs.
After Dhaka, the most drug-prone districts in the country are Cox's Bazar, Chattogram, Cumilla, Brahmanbaria, Narsingdi, Faridpur, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Tangail, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Natore, Pabna, Sirajganj, Bogura, Joypurhat, Dinajpur, Satkhira and Jashore.
The maximum number of narcotics cases were also filed in Dhaka last year, which was 7,556, out of 25,654 cases countrywide, revealed the report.
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