Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) director general Benazir Ahmed yesterday said the ongoing anti-drug drive should continue even if it draws criticism from some quarters. He said drug lords should be exterminated once and for all. “Anyone opposing the countrywide anti-drug drive are also critics of the anti-militancy drive,” he added.

He was speaking as a special guest at a workshop on the 'anti-drug action plan'. The event was organised by the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) in the city. DNC director general Md Jamal Uddin Ahmed presided over the programme. “There is a group of people who will oppose every new initiative. What do they really want to achieve with their opposition? I saw them on television talking against the anti-militancy drive launched across the country,” said the RAB chief. “We’ll earn victory in this war against drugs,” he added.
Benazir Ahmed recommended the formation of special anti-drug courts with retired judges in 64 districts of the country. He also mentioned the necessity for a special prison for drug dealers. “They may be kept on an island or any isolated part of the Bay of Bengal,” he suggested.
Farid Ahmed Chowdhury, secretary to the Security Service Division, said the final draft of Narcotics Control Act, 2018 would be tabled within two weeks in the Cabinet for approval.
The punitive measures under the draft act will be decided on the basis of the amount and types of drugs carried and sold by peddlers and dealers. “Capital punishment is being recommended for dealers sitting at the helm of the drug cartel,” said Chowdhury.
The RAB chief said yaba shipments from Cox’s Bazar to Dhaka had stopped due to strict monitoring by law enforcement agencies. “But such shipments are now taking place through the Sylhet route,” he added.
He thanked journalists for cooperating with the anti-drug drive.