Independent MP from Brahmanbaria-2 Rumeen Farhana on Monday told parliament that drug couriers are repeatedly arrested in narcotics cases, while those involved in the drug trade—or even their family members—end up in parliament.
She made the remarks during the 23rd sitting of the second budget session of the 13th National Parliament while taking part in a discussion on a proposal to send the Narcotics Control (Amendment) Bill, 2026, for public scrutiny before its passage. Deputy Speaker Barrister Kayser Kamal chaired the sitting.
"Every day, it is the carriers who are repeatedly arrested," Rumeen said. "But people like Bodi, who have been identified in reports by all government agencies as being involved in the drug trade, go to parliament. If they cannot, their family members do."
She argued that no law would effectively curb narcotics unless authorities arrested the masterminds behind the trade.
"Until we can arrest those directly involved in drug trafficking and those through whose hands drugs enter Bangladesh through Teknaf, I do not think any law will solve this problem," she said.
Rumeen maintained that the existing law is already stringent, noting that possession of more than 25 grams of narcotics carries a penalty of life imprisonment or even the death sentence.
"Yet when carriers are caught with hundreds of thousands of yaba tablets or several kilograms of heroin, we cannot go beyond them," she added.
Earlier, during the 16th sitting of the second budget session on June 27, BNP MP Goyasawar Chandra Roy also raised concerns over drug trafficking while participating in the general discussion on the proposed FY2026-27 budget.
"Earlier we used to hear about Bodi. Now Bodi is no more; Bodi has been eliminated. So who has taken responsibility there now? People from the surrounding area. The home minister should know. By now, drug trafficking through that route should have stopped," he said.
He added that laws alone cannot eliminate the problem.
"Nothing happens through law alone. It takes courage, honest courage, and the willingness to enforce the law," he said, describing narcotics as one of Bangladesh's biggest challenges.