'Good news!! Good news!! I have brought domestic and foreign goods from Mod (Alcohol) Bazar. So why delay? Order now. I have brought all kinds of foreign goods for you.’
Such an advertisement has been placed on a page called 'Liquor Market' on the social media platform Facebook. There are multiple posts with pictures and videos of various local liquors and beers. There are numerous comments and reactions under those posts. Multiple WhatsApp numbers have been given as contact addresses. The post lists prices and lists of different brands of foreign liquor. The post also says, "Delivery is done by carriers to any district of the country within 24 hours."
Another page named 'Mod (Alcohol) Welfare Association' has been found. The page is being used as a private group. It has 122k members. The page, created four years ago, is still active. Apart from this, many pages like 'Alcohol Lover BD,' '99 Bottle Dhaka Hub,' 'Bhomra Drinks Corner,' 'Chuadanga Drinks Corner,' 'Patuakhali Border Cross Drink House,' 'Drinks Corner,' and 'BD Brand Shop' are being opened, and drug trading is going on actively. Most of these groups or pages have more than a million members. Drug trafficking is also conducted through communication on WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, and Instagram.
A search of the Khaborer Kagoj revealed several groups that are active online, including on social media platforms like Facebook. The online drug market has raised concerns as the youth of the country are being destroyed by the terrible grip of drugs.
Although drug gangs have been using social media for a long time, the role of anti-drug authorities in these cases is also questionable. Although two or four people are arrested occasionally, there are no consistent operations. Social crime analysts believe that the detectives of the relevant agencies are not properly monitoring these issues.
"Social media is now a very big platform, and it is natural that drug gangs will try to carry out activities there. In addition to increasing intelligence surveillance, strict action must be taken against those involved in this matter. It is important to publish or make the strict measures visible in the media so that drug gangs are afraid to get involved in the business again. Beyond this, the biggest role needs to be played by the family or guardians. We need to pay close attention to where the growing children (boys and girls) of the house are going, what they are doing, and who they are associating with. We need to increase the practice of social and moral education," Dr. Touhidul Haque, associate professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research of Dhaka University, told the Khaborer Kagoj in this context.
Analysis of the data revealed that recently, officials of the Narcotics Control Department (DNC) arrested a person involved in online drug dealing in the capital with drugs in hand. The drugs were strategically ordered online through a woman. Later, a person (carrier) showed up at the delivery address with seven bottles of various foreign brands of liquor. When DNC officials detained him at the scene, the person tried to escape by getting into a scuffle. He claimed that he was a member of a liquor bar in the capital. He also had a license, which allowed him to consume or carry alcohol. However, he later admitted that he was purchasing alcohol from the bar after receiving an online order and supplying it as a retailer. He also said that many people in Dhaka are doing business by collecting liquor from various bars and selling and delivering it through people according to online orders.
The annual report (2024) of the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) states that in the current technology-dependent era, drug traffickers are choosing online platforms as a new strategy to carry out their activities. They are secretly buying and selling drugs using various social media apps and online marketplaces. Traffickers are using various online and mobile banking channels for drug transactions. In addition, various common and rare drugs, including Yaba, Ice, ASD, NPS (khat), and ketamine, are being traded on the dark web. Traffickers are also using Bitcoin for illegal transactions.
The elite force RAB is one of the main organizations playing a key role in the anti-drug campaign. "RAB is conducting strict anti-drug surveillance through all means, online or direct. The anti-drug operation is one of the few issues that RAB prioritizes. All battalions across the country, including the operations branch and intelligence branch of RAB headquarters, are always on the alert for anti-drug operations," said Wing Commander MZM Intekhab Chowdhury, Director of RAB's Legal and Media Branch.
"Drug smugglers are constantly changing their tactics. They are creating new channels using modern technology. Work is being done to address these challenges," Khorshid Alam, Deputy Director (DD) of the Dhaka Divisional Intelligence Office of the Narcotics Control Department, told Khabarer Kagoj in the same context.
Several law enforcement officials said that drug dealers are using sign language to deliver drugs, such as referring to yaba as "carbaria guti," "chili," "abba," and "fruit" and marijuana as "vegetables," "join," and "leaf." They communicate through WhatsApp, Messenger, and even Instagram instead of talking directly on mobile phones. Although some criminals have been caught through cyber monitoring, the ringleaders remain undetected.
It has been learned that during conversations with DNC officials and detectives, members of the drug gang are targeting young people by creating 'secret groups' and 'fake accounts' on popular social media apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Instagram. However, just because you place an order does not mean they are delivering drugs. Home delivery is arranged through a specific person only after a long chat to confirm whether the orderer is a member of a law enforcement agency or an intelligence agency.
Md. Mehedi Hasan, Assistant Director (AD) of the Dhaka Metro North Region of the Narcotics Control Department, told the Khaborer Kagoj that the spread of drug trading through online platforms is very worrying. "We are conducting an operation to identify and arrest those traffickers through intelligence investigations."
