Director General (DG) of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Benazir Ahmed has warned that RAB will strengthen the legal system to the optimum level to prevent drug abuse.
He has asked anyone who has drugs on their selves, including drug traders, addicts and traffickers, to hand the drugs over to the nearest RAB camp.
The DG made the statement in a press briefing at the media centre of Kawran Bazar in Dhaka on Monday morning.
"Drug abuse has become a national problem," said Benazir. "We can only overcome this problem by cooperating with each other. We need cooperation from lawyers as well, so that drug traders or godfathers cannot get away through some loophole."
He added that the first priority of operations should be to ensure punishment through mobile courts on the spot. However, if necessary, regular cases would be lodged in police stations as well, but it would be less encouraged as due to backlog, these cases normally take a lot of time to get processed.
"So this is my message to those who abuse drugs: please, stop it," said the RAB DG. "If you do that, then traders will stop trading and traffickers will stop smuggling drugs from outside the country. Those who have unused drugs on them, I suggest leaving them behind in the RAB camps, for the greater good."
The DG further said that a lot of government vehicles are used to transport drugs from outside the country. He asked people to keep an eye on their drivers to see what they are doing with the vehicles after finishing their shifts.
According to Benazir, in the last 14 years, RAB has arrested 68,498 drug addicts and dealers. It has also seized narcotics worth Tk1,700 crore so far.
"Recently, the prime minister has asked RAB to conduct special drug drives in more than one place," said the DG in the press briefing. "Accordingly, we have been implementing those drug drives since May 4."
He said that in the last nine days, 1,415 drug addicts and traders were fined more than Tk20 lakh by mobile courts. And drugs worth Tk15 crore were seized from them.
381 people were arrested outside the mobile courts, and cases have been filed against them. "We want to keep this operation running," said the DG.
When asked whether RAB itself has any ties with drug traders, Benazir denied it, saying there has been no news of RAB involvement yet.
"But if anyone is involved, then it is my warning to them: come away," he said.
However, replying to reporters' questions about any list of influential people who might be involved in drug dealing, the DG said: "It has not been specified yet."
The DG sought cooperation from all people including political leaders, religious leaders, teachers, journalists, human rights activists, social activists and guardians to work together to prevent drug abuse.