Drug crisis in Bangladesh deepens with 8.2 million addicts: Report

Dhaka, July 28 (AHN) Bangladesh is grappling with a deepening drug crisis, with an estimated 8.2 million people using narcotics across the country. Drugs ranging from yaba to heroin are reportedly being smuggled through at least 105 border points across 18 districts, with Dhaka emerging as the country’s main hub for illicit drug distribution and consumption, a report has stated.

From land border routes to coastal and riverine corridors, traffickers rely on multiple channels to smuggle drugs into Bangladesh and later distribute them via couriers and online networks.

They also increasingly exploit digital platforms such as social media, online marketplaces, encrypted messaging apps, courier services and online payment systems to expand the illicit trade, according to a report in Bangladesh’s leading newspaper The Daily Star.

Some traffickers have resorted to a range of covert techniques to move drugs, including swallowing packets of yaba tablets, concealing drugs inside shoes, walking sticks and vehicle tyres, and also using women and children as carriers.

According to officials at Bangladesh’s Home Ministry and the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), nearly 23 lakh people in Dhaka are among the country’s 82 lakh people addicted to drugs.

The report warned that smuggling of synthetic and psychoactive substances, including LSD and MDMA (a stimulant and psychedelic drug), has created new challenges for authorities.

A psychoactive substance is any chemical compound that affects how the brain works, altering a person’s mood, consciousness, feelings and behaviour.

A large portion of synthetic drug users and carriers are individuals between the ages of 16 and 30, officials and experts said,

Synthetic drugs are man-made chemical substances manufactured in a laboratory setting.

"Official data show that the seizure of yaba and other ATS tablets nearly doubled to 4.35 crore in 2025 from 2.28 crore a year earlier. However, seizures of other major narcotics declined -- heroin (337kg, down from 503kg), Phensedyl (319,940 bottles, down from 572,865 bottles), cannabis (96,358kg, down from 114,345kg) and cocaine (15kg, down from 130kg)," according to The Daily Star report.

The DNC report highlighted that the agency is struggling with shortages of manpower, advanced detection tools, vehicles and technological capabilities needed for intelligence-based operations. It noted that many drug-related cases remain unresolved for years due to over-burdened courts, procedural delays, poor investigations, weak evidence management and pressure on witnesses.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Mohammad Badruddin, Additional Director (intelligence) at the DNC headquarters, said, "With limited manpower and resources, we are trying our best to conduct drives, arrest the perpetrators and recover illegal substances."