Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Thursday said the government is planning to arm narcotics officers and establish special tribunals for drug-related offences as part of a new legal framework aimed at tackling organised drug trafficking and clearing a backlog of nearly 80,000 pending cases.
* 80,000 drug related cases pending in Dhaka
* 8m people, about 4.88pc of population, use drugs
* 200-bed drug treatment, rehabilitation centres to set up in Div HQs
Speaking at a press conference at the Home Ministry conference room at the Secretariat ahead of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2026, he said current laws are proving inadequate in dismantling drug cartels, while Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) personnel remain outmatched on the ground.
According to the minister, around 8 million people in Bangladesh use illegal drugs, accounting for about 4.88 per cent of the country's population. He said the emergence of new synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs has further intensified the problem.
Salahuddin said heavily armed drug syndicates often possess sophisticated weapons, while frontline DNC officers operate without arms, creating a significant enforcement gap.
To address the situation, the government is fast-tracking a new legislative framework that will be placed before Parliament during the current session, he said.
The minister also highlighted the growing burden on the judicial system, noting that nearly 80,000 narcotics-related cases remain pending in Dhaka alone, alongside thousands more across district courts.
Given the scale of the backlog, conventional court procedures alone would struggle to handle the caseload efficiently, he said.
To expedite the disposal of cases, the government has proposed establishing special tribunals for drug-related offences, while trials will continue simultaneously in regular courts.
"The government is improving treatment services for drug addicts and has proposed separate tribunals to speed up the trial of nearly 80,000 pending drug-related cases," he said.
Referring to a survey conducted by the Department of Narcotics Control, the minister said a large number of young people are becoming addicted to drugs, prompting the government to strengthen treatment and rehabilitation facilities.
He said bed capacity has already been increased at the government-run Central Drug Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre in Tejgaon and at treatment facilities in three divisional cities. Work is also underway to expand the Dhaka centre's capacity to 250 beds.
A Tk 143 crore project has been launched to establish 200-bed drug treatment and rehabilitation centres in Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Rangpur, Sylhet and Mymensingh.
According to the minister, the centres will provide treatment as well as vocational training to help recovering addicts reintegrate into society.
Salahuddin also warned that drug trafficking has increasingly shifted to online platforms, while proceeds from the trade are being smuggled abroad and laundered through various channels.
He stressed the need to modernise laws relating to narcotics, money laundering and cybercrime to address technology-driven criminal activities and ensure greater transparency and accountability in enforcement efforts.
