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Home Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has admitted the interim government has failed to bring drug trafficking and corruption under control, describing both as “enemies of the nation”.
Speaking at an event at the home ministry marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, he said rehabilitation centres alone will not solve the problem.
He handed out financial grants to representatives of 32 rehabilitation facilities during the event.
Jahangir blamed cross-border supply routes for fuelling the drug trade, claiming that small phensedyl factories have been set up in India solely to “smuggle” the substance into Bangladesh.
He said Indian authorities deny the existence of such factories when challenged.
On the flow of yaba from neighbouring countries, he said “a force in another country is heavily dependent on the yaba trade, using it as their main source of income to run entire households”.
He claimed efforts are under way to stop it.
The Adviser warned that no one involved in the drug trade would be spared, including members of the law-enforcing agencies.
He criticised the focus on catching carriers instead of the top figures who organise the trade, referring to drug “godfathers” who remain untouched, “socialising with influential people in luxury hotels”.
Those running the operations, he said, must be the real targets.
When asked about former Cox’s Bazar MP Abdur Rahman Bodi, who has long faced allegations of drug involvement, Jahangir said: “Now there are many such as Bodi.”
Department of Narcotics Control Director General Md Hasan Maruf, also present at the event, said raids on bars in Dhaka are being conducted regularly despite staffing shortages.
Responding to allegations that officials accept money from bar owners, he said operations involve a mix of narcotics officers, media personnel, and other parties, calling it a “collective process”.
On recent consecutive raids in Banani, he said the areas are home to powerful social groups who pose a challenge to enforcement.
On this point, Jahangir said: “People from the elite quarters of society are among us. We need to target this group more.”