The cocaine mafias of the country have remained out of reach for years, as law enforcers can do nothing to them other than arresting the carriers. Mafias remain elusive even during the investigation of cases.
Additional Superintendent of Police in Chattogram Md Rasel said: “The Narcotics Control Act allows accusing someone based on knowledge and position, narrowing the scope of accusing anyone else out of this. Therefore, only the carriers were made accused.”
It was known that Bangladesh specifically grater Chattogram has become one of the unconventional route for cocaine smuggling in the South Asia. The position of Golden Triangle [Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand] and Black Triangle allures cocaine mafias to use Chattogram as cocaine transit. They smuggle cocaine to India, and Middle East using this route.
However, the law enforcers have seized at least 13 consignments of cocaine smuggling using various routes in Chittagong in the last three years. In some of these cases, charge sheets have been filed while others are ongoing.
In the filed charge sheets, only the carrier has been named as an accused.
Deputy Director of Narcotics Control office, Chittagong Metro (North) Humayun Kabir Khondakar said: “Cocaine producing countries include South America, Colombia, Peru and Bolivia and most of this high-priced drug’s consumers are from Europe, America, and the Middle East.”
“Unlike other drugs, Bangladesh does not have cocaine users, and the number is almost zero,” he said, adding: “Despite this, cocaine shipments are occasionally seized in Bangladesh.”
He added that the cocaine that were seized in different time when being smuggled as transit routes, destined for different countries.
“The international drug mafias are using Bangladesh as an unconventional route.”
According to United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Report 2023, “2,000 tons of cocaine is being annually produced worldwide, and three producing countries are from South America. Of those, Colombia produces 61 percent while Peru and Bolivia produces 26 percent and 13 percent respectively.
30 percent of users are from North America, 24 percent from South America and the Caribbean, and 21 percent from Europe. There are also users in Africa and Asia.
However, Bangladesh is not listed in the list of top countries in either production or consumption of cocaine in the Global Cocaine Report.
Translated by Afsar Munna
