Only drug couriers get arrested, traffickers or their family members end up in parliament: Rumeen Farhana

Highlights:

• No law can stop drugs unless kingpins are caught, says Rumeen
• Teknaf drug masterminds remain beyond reach
• Existing drug law is tough, enforcement is weak
• Investigations stop with couriers, not traffickers
• Rumeen echoes Goyeshwar’s call for stronger action against drug networks

Independent lawmaker for Brahmanbaria-2 Rumeen Farhana today (13 July) alleged that while drug couriers are repeatedly arrested in narcotics cases, those involved in the drug trade – or even their family members – end up serving in parliament.

In almost every drug case, law enforcement arrests only the carriers or couriers, while the masterminds behind the trafficking network remain beyond the reach of investigations, she said while participating in a discussion on a proposal for public opinion scrutiny of the Narcotics Control (Amendment) Bill, 2026, during the 23rd sitting of the 13th National Parliament.

“People like Bodi, whose names have appeared in reports by various government agencies for alleged involvement in the drug trade, make it to parliament. And if they cannot, members of their families do,” she said.

She argued that the country’s drug problem cannot be resolved unless authorities target the key traffickers responsible for smuggling narcotics into Bangladesh through the Teknaf border.

“So long as we fail to arrest the main masterminds directly involved in the drug trade and those who bring drugs into Bangladesh through the Teknaf border, no law will be able to solve this problem,” she said.

Rumeen noted that the existing law is already stringent, providing for life imprisonment or even the death penalty for possession of 25 grams or more of certain narcotics.

Despite that, she said, investigations often stop with the arrest of couriers carrying large consignments of yaba tablets or heroin and fail to identify or prosecute those directing the trade.

She also recalled that BNP lawmaker Goyeshwar Chandra Roy had raised similar concerns during the budget discussion in parliament on 27 June.

At the time, Goyeshwar said laws alone cannot stop drug trafficking without the political will, integrity and courage to enforce them, adding that drug addiction remains one of Bangladesh’s biggest challenges.