Anti-drug drive
147 arrested in capital
At least 147 people were arrested during anti-drug raids by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) at several known hubs of narcotics trade in the city yesterday. Of those arrested, 100 were caught at Ganaktuli in Dhakas Hazaribagh area, police said. The two-hour drive at Ganaktuli was part of the ongoing countywide crackdown on narcotics, deputy commissioner of police (Ramna division) Maruf Hossain Sardar said. Police would file cases after interrogating the suspects, he added.
Maruf Hossain Sardar said that huge quantities of marijuana, phensedyl, 300 pieces of yaba and around 1,500 litres of locally made liquor were seized during the raid that lasted from 11 am to 1 pm. In another drive, 47
people, including four women, were arrested from the railway slum in Karwan Bazar area yesterday.
Biplob Kumar Sarkar, deputy commissioner of Tejgaon, said the operation started around noon and went on till 4.30 pm. Some of those arrested were drug dealers, peddlers and addicts, he added. He also said that after proper investigation, those found innocent would be released.
On Saturday, law enforcers had conducted similar drives at Geneva camp in Mohammadpur area and the slums at Korail and TT para. During the drive at Geneva camp, eight cases were filed against 76 people. Moreover, 77 were sentenced to six months to two years of prison terms by the accompanying mobile court.
Police also arrested 30 people from Karail and 22 from TT para. They seized 30,000 yaba tablets and 37 kg of marijuana during raids on Saturday night.
Notwithstanding the intense crackdown, police have so far failed to arrest any of the main drug dealers in the city. Most of those detained in the recent raids were petty dealers, sources said. Monirul Islam, chief of the DMP Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit, said the law enforcers were collecting information about the drug lords to arrest them.
The drug lords are not found on the spot. We are depending on specific intelligence inputs to arrest them, he told the media after the raids at Karail and TT para.
He said the government has taken a zero-tolerance stance against drugs and the raids would continue to root out the menace.
On May 4, RAB had launched a nationwide anti-drug drive after a directive from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Police too launched a similar drive on May 18.
