Lalmonirhat police effectively combat drug menace

The police have taken various motivational programmes, including mass campaigns, in border areas of the district for building awareness and inspiring villagers to shun any association with drug-related activities.  

Several police teams, led by the police super (SP) of Lalmonirhat, have recently started conducting special drives and establishing personal contacts in different villages of border areas. They are seeking help from locals to put a stop to the drug trade. These police teams have been relentlessly working in the frontier areas to eradicate the drug menace from the area and already some positive changes could be seen in this respect.

Some drug peddlers have changed their occupation, while others have fled to different areas. A handful of them have taken shelter in neighbouring countries. Some of them have already surrendered to law enforcers and promised to give up the drug business.

Lalmonirhat district lies in the way of the largest drug smugging routes in the country.

Five upazilas of the district are located inside Coochbihar district of West Bengal in India.

Bangladesh shares about 337 km of its border with India in Lalmonirhat and some parts of Kurigram district, which is under the supervision of the Lalmonirhat-15 and Rangpur-61 BGB battalions.

Some areas in Mogalhat, Durgapur and Aditmari are particularly vulnerable without any barbed wire fencing. So, drug traders can easily smuggle narcotics into Bangladesh through these areas. Hemp and phensedyl are the main types of drugs that are traded here.

Even a few days back, the number of drugs users increased alarmingly in these areas. Drug addicts came from every walk of life—they include school students, teachers, government officials and rickshaw pullers. Many bright students of good families were ruined due to narcotics addiction.

Of late, the police department of the district has waged war against drug traders and declared zero tolerance against them. This has considerably improved the scenario.

Earlier, Lalmonirhat police used to recover around 200 kg of hemp and 2,000 bottles of phensedyl every month. But the strict monitoring by the law enforcers has curbed the drug trade. Only 7 kg of hemp and 250 bottles of phenesedyl could be found from the drug traders in the past few months.

The police recovered various drugs worth about Tk. 8 crore in the couple of years from the districts. They filed 1,672 drug cases and 397 smuggling cases. In total, 3,401 persons have been in connection with the drug business and 361 arrested in connection with smuggling of drugs.

In 2016, 92 drug peddlers surrendered to the law enforcers in Mogalhat union. Recently, 21 drug traders surrendered to the police in Aditmari upazila and promised to return to normal life.

Lalmonirhat police super SM Rashidul Haque already got his ninth Excellence Award as the best police super in the Rangpur region for his outstanding performance. In 2016, Lalmonirhat police achieved the first position in recovery of drugs and smuggled goods across the country under Group-C. In 2017, Lalmonirhat police also achieved the first position in drug recovery under Group-C. In 2018, the police super got the IGP exemplinary good service badge in police week.

SM Rashidul Haque told The Independent that he found the drug trade to be the biggest problem in the region and accordingly launched special drives against drug peddlers.

"It requires strong teamwork to achieve the expected goal because drug traders are part of a strong syndicate," he said.

He urged locals to play a positive role in eradicating drugs from society to usher in a better tomorrow for future generations.

 

Lalmonirhat police effectively combat drug menace

The police have taken various motivational programmes, including mass campaigns, in border areas of the district for building awareness and inspiring villagers to shun any association with drug-related activities. Several police teams, led by the police super (SP) of Lalmonirhat, have recently started conducting special drives and establishing personal contacts in different villages of border areas. They are seeking help from locals to put a stop to the drug trade. These police teams have been relentlessly working in the frontier areas to eradicate the drug menace from the area and already some positive changes could be seen in this respect. Some drug peddlers have changed their occupation, while others have fled to different areas. A handful of them have taken shelter in neighbouring countries. Some of them have already surrendered to law enforcers and promised to give up the drug business. Lalmonirhat district lies in the way of the largest drug smugging routes in the country. Five upazilas of the district are located inside Coochbihar district of West Bengal in India. Bangladesh shares about 337 km of its border with India in Lalmonirhat and some parts of Kurigram district, which is under the supervision of the Lalmonirhat-15 and Rangpur-61 BGB battalions. Some areas in Mogalhat, Durgapur and Aditmari are particularly vulnerable without any barbed wire fencing. So, drug traders can easily smuggle narcotics into Bangladesh through these areas. Hemp and phensedyl are the main types of drugs that are traded here. Even a few days back, the number of drugs users increased alarmingly in these areas. Drug addicts came from every walk of lifethey include school students, teachers, government officials and rickshaw pullers. Many bright students of good families were ruined due to narcotics addiction. Of late, the police department of the district has waged war against drug traders and declared zero tolerance against them. This has considerably improved the scenario. Earlier, Lalmonirhat police used to recover around 200 kg of hemp and 2,000 bottles of phensedyl every month. But the strict monitoring by the law enforcers has curbed the drug trade. Only 7 kg of hemp and 250 bottles of phenesedyl could be found from the drug traders in the past few months. The police recovered various drugs worth about Tk. 8 crore in the couple of years from the districts. They filed 1,672 drug cases and 397 smuggling cases. In total, 3,401 persons have been in connection with the drug business and 361 arrested in connection with smuggling of drugs. In 2016, 92 drug peddlers surrendered to the law enforcers in Mogalhat union. Recently, 21 drug traders surrendered to the police in Aditmari upazila and promised to return to normal life. Lalmonirhat police super SM Rashidul Haque already got his ninth Excellence Award as the best police super in the Rangpur region for his outstanding performance. In 2016, Lalmonirhat police achieved the first position in recovery of drugs and smuggled goods across the country under Group-C. In 2017, Lalmonirhat police also achieved the first position in drug recovery under Group-C. In 2018, the police super got the IGP exemplinary good service badge in police week. SM Rashidul Haque told The Independent that he found the drug trade to be the biggest problem in the region and accordingly launched special drives against drug peddlers. It requires strong teamwork to achieve the expected goal because drug traders are part of a strong syndicate, he said. He urged locals to play a positive role in eradicating drugs from society to usher in a better tomorrow for future generations.