Some of those tasked with eliminating drugs are themselves joining the trade — who will bring it under control?
Some of those whose hands hold the responsibility of eliminating drugs are themselves getting involved in drug use, smuggling and trading. A police member in charge of preserving and destroying evidence in drug cases is being arrested with yaba; allegations are being raised against members of various ranks including assistant sub-inspectors (ASI) and constables working at police stations. Even an officer of the rank of superintendent of police has been suspended after the presence of drugs was detected in a dope test. Those concerned ask — if the members of the force responsible for suppressing drugs themselves join the trade, how will drugs be controlled?
Over the past few months, several such incidents have taken place in Dhaka, Rangpur, Satkhira, Cox's Bazar, Chattogram, Natore, Bogura, Barishal and Kishoreganj. Arrests on charges of transporting and selling yaba in some places, detentions at drug-taking gatherings in others, and suspensions after positive dope tests elsewhere — these incidents have created concern over the police's internal surveillance, possible collusion of members with traders, and the security of seized drugs.
The latest incident is in Rangpur. On Thursday (15 October), the Department of Narcotics Control raided room no. 710 on the seventh floor of the Skyview Hotel in the Payra Chattar area of the city. Rangpur district police constable Mithun Islam (29) and former constable Omar Ali (37) were arrested from there with 19 pieces of yaba and drug-taking equipment.
Earlier, on 7 September, detective police arrested two police constables, Mostain Billah and Nazmul Islam, with 56 bottles of Corex syrup in the Satkhira bypass area. On 6 September of the same month, BGB arrested APBn member Mohammad Ali Munna Shikdar in Ramu, Cox's Bazar, with 54,000 yaba; a motorcycle, two iPhones and Tk 50,990 in cash were seized from him.
A big consignment has been caught in a police member's hands in Chattogram too. On 5 May, Khulna district police constable Ashikul Islam was arrested with 50,000 yaba while on his way carrying yaba from Cox's Bazar. Four days before that, on 1 May, BGB detained Constable Sajib Bepari of 8 APBn in Ramu with 20,000 yaba. On 20 August 2025, Monirul Islam, a constable of the Special Branch of the metropolitan police, was also arrested in Lohagara, Chattogram, with 10,000 yaba; after a case was filed, he was sent to jail through the court.
One of the most worrying incidents is in the capital's Sutrapur. On 27 September, Constable Md Rezaul Karim, who served in the evidence disposal and drug destruction branch of the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, was arrested with 1,790 pieces of yaba. He was arrested on allegations of positioning himself at a food shop to sell yaba, and the court granted three days' remand. However, denying the allegations in court, Rezaul claimed the yaba was not recovered from him — it was lying where he was standing.
On 24 August, Pallabi Police Station ASI Md Shafiqul Islam and his associate Wasim were arrested in the capital's Dakshinkhan on allegations of drug trading. Police said 50 pieces were first recovered from Wasim, then 200 pieces from Shafiqul and 5,110 pieces of yaba from another flat; a case has been filed under the Narcotics Control Act. Shafiqul also faced allegations of being absent from his workplace for a long time — the then OC of Pallabi Police Station said a report about his absence had been sent in June itself. Even so, questions have been raised about how much effective surveillance there was over him.
The same picture is seen in other districts. On 23 September, three people including Al Amin, a constable of the Rajshahi Range's reserve force, were arrested in Lalpur, Natore, with 106 pieces of yaba; two motorcycles and Tk 32,000 in cash were seized. On 23 May, the DB detained Saidur Rahman and Abdul Wahab with 300 pieces of yaba in the Tinmatha Railgate area of Bogura, raiding in the guise of buyers — Saidur was a member of the Joypurhat district police but had been absent from his workplace for nearly two months, and Wahab is a dismissed police member.
On 8 October, the Department of Narcotics Control raided a drug-taking gathering in the Dakshin Karapur area of Barishal and detained four people including Delwar Hossain, ASI of Bimanbandar Police Station. Drug-taking equipment was found at the scene but no drugs were found; it is alleged that Delwar tried to flee during the raid. He was later suspended. Two others detained in that raid received 20 days' imprisonment after their dope tests came back positive, but it is not clear whether Delwar's dope test was conducted — creating questions about the equal application of the legal process in the cases of ordinary citizens and police members.
Dope test statistics also show the bigger picture of drug involvement inside the police. According to Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) information, from 10 March 2020 to 10 March 2023, the dope tests of 126 members came back positive, of whom 116 were dismissed from service. Among those identified were 98 constables, 11 SIs, seven ASIs, eight naiks, one inspector and one traffic sergeant. In September 2026, DMP Commissioner Mosleh Uddin Ahmed said that from 2025 to that time a further 17 members' dope tests had come back positive — among them 15 constables, one ASI and one naik; departmental action has been taken against them.
The most discussed incident in terms of rank is that of Superintendent of Police A F M Nizam Uddin. He was suspended in September after his dope test came back positive; the notification mentions that benzodiazepines and amphetamine or methamphetamine-class elements were detected in his sample. Most recently, on 13 October, Osman Gani, a driver constable of the Kishoreganj district police, was also suspended after his dope test came back positive; the superintendent of police there, Mohammad Mizanur Rahman, announced the formation of a three-member investigation committee and spoke of zero tolerance against drugs.
Additional IGP Khandaker Rafiqul Islam has admitted the drug involvement of some police members. He said some errant members of the police are involved, and had there been no involvement of their own people, the drug traders would not have got so much opportunity; but not everyone is like that, some get involved. Stating that the force's position on drugs is zero tolerance, he said that if involvement is proved in an investigation, strict action is taken according to the law. On dope tests, he said any member cannot be tested at any time at will — unless someone is visibly seen in a drug-intoxicated state it is difficult to test them, it is also expensive, and the person concerned can challenge it in court.
Md Raziur Rahman, deputy director of the Department of Narcotics Control's Dhaka Metro office, commented that the incidents are isolated. He said that in a huge police force of about 220,000 members there may be some errant individuals, not everyone is involved with drugs; but no one is being spared if they commit a crime. He also said the scope of dope tests will expand further in the next one to two years.
Professor Md Rezaul Karim, chairman of the criminology department of the University of Dhaka, said drugs have now spread like a social disease and people of various classes and professions are getting involved in it, centred on a trade worth millions of taka. Social resistance must be built first; but if those who are in the front line of resistance themselves get involved, the government's initiatives will be called into question. In his view, without surveillance of those in charge and regular dope tests when necessary, transparent investigations and exemplary punishment, it is difficult to build effective and sustainable resistance. Crime analysts are of the unanimous view that not just arrests or dismissals, but identifying the behind-the-scenes links of the crime rings and ensuring accountability is now the main challenge.
