The officials of the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) under the home ministry want firearms to tackle drugs traffickers and people involved in narcotics business. The officials said without the issue of firearms it’s not possible for them to fight against the narcotics traders who carry illegally procured firearms.
“We have recently sent a letter to the secretary in the ministry of home affairs asking him for immediate issuance of licensed firearms. We also want a separate uniform for the officials,” Khandker Mohammad Ali, director general of the DNC, told The Independent on Thursday.
“The illegal drugs businessmen and traffickers are organized and have illegal firearms but the DNC officials who are sole government agent to arrest theses narcotics traders, seize their stocks and file cases against them and the traffickers have no firearms,” he said adding, “Very often the DNC officials and employees are attacked by peddlers and traffickers while on duty, and this has caused them to lose interest in discharging their duties without arms.”
Ali also said there were only 1,277 posts of officers and employees of DNC across the country and of them nearly 500 posts were vacant. Sufficient manpower is urgently needed to fight against drugs trafficking, he said.
The DNC has chalked out various programmes such as discussions and rallies to mark the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the DNC move, made three years ago to set up an anti-narcotics committee at every educational institution to dissuade students from using drugs, has almost come a cropper. The DNC bosses blamed it on their manpower shortage and non-cooperation of field-level education officers.
According to DNC statistics, only 5,017 of the nearly 33,000 institutions formed anti-drug committee till last month.
Seeking cooperation of the education ministry, the DNC DG has sent a letter to the education secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury to take necessary steps to form the committees at the educational institutions.
A recent DNC study has found that nearly 40 per cent students between the ages of 15 and 30 are addicted to various forms of drugs and other crimes.
The study shows that young people belonging to the upper strata of society take to alcohol and other drugs as status symbol and to impress their friends. Gradually they become addicted to these drugs.
-With The Independent input
