The government is planning to deploy dog squad at jails where drugs trading is rampant. In order to check the rife and unbridled drug trading and illicit affairs at jails, the authorities concerned have taken the measures.
Highly placed sources at jails say that different kind of drug items, including Yaba, worth over Tk one lakh, is sold at every jails with the connivance of the jail guards.
The country has about 68 jails in where some 55,000 inmates and over 11,000 staff.
Insiders say if drug traders sell about Tk 68 lakh every day in 68 jails, the total figure stands over Tk 300 crore annually.
When asked about the illicit drug trading at jails, Inspector General of Prisons Brigadier General Syed Muhamad Motaher Hossain said that they would deploy the dog squad at drug-prone jails.
“We will soon deploy the dog squad at those jails in where drug trading is rampant,” he told the Bangladesh Post.
The IG Prions also stressed the need for using modern techniques so that drugs can no way enter at jails.
Many allege that prisons are considered to be a place where offenders are rehabilitated, but in reality the picture is different in the country. It is because, many jails have turned into a hotspot for criminal activities, especially the drug trading.
According to the insiders, Kashimpur High Security Jail is one of the jails in the country where drug trading is rampant.
It is a centre of drug trading, torture of inmates and other misdeeds.
Kashimpur High Security jail Chief Guard Saiful Islam was arrested on December 18 in 2023 with 300 pieces of yaba. The contraband tablet was recovered from his possession when he was entering jail.
When the attention of Kashimpur Jail Superintendent Main Uddin was drawn over the rampant trading of drugs at jails, he told the Bangladesh Post that none would be spared for drug trading.
“There are many drug addicts in jails. They always try to take drug into the jail,” he said, adding that they have been trying to address the problem.
Sources at the jail say that authorities concerned seem to be struggling to bring the drug abuse under control despite its measures to halt the trade.
According to rough estimates, each prison generates over Tk 1 lakh daily from drug sale. This means the collective total from all 68 prisons reaches a shocking Tk 68 lakh per day. When calculated on an annual basis, the figure reaches Tk 300 crore.
Experts say that despite the statistics, there is little action being taken to prevent the entry of drugs into prisons.
A key preventive measure would be the drug testing of prison staff, but the authorities concerned remain notably silent on this issue, they opine.
With over 11,000 staff members across the prisons and more than 55,000 prisoners, testing is an absolute necessary to curb the inflow and influence of drugs.
Some prison officials have acknowledged it saying that they often recover small amount of cannabis.
“Very little amount of cannabis are seized daily from the prison premises,”
Dhaka Central Jail Superintendent Suraiya Akter told the Bangladesh Post.
Sources say that various kinds of drugs enter the prisons through travelling several hands.
Many inmates carry drugs while returning to jails after appearing before the court while corrupt prison guards also supply drugs to the inmates in exchange for money.
Prisoners allege that many prison guards help them get drugs at jails. Even, if any prison staff is nabbed for supplying the drug to the inmates, they are awarded minor departmental punishment.
Experts say that the absence of anti-drug campaigns or counselling programmes for inmates has worsened the situation.
Without such interventions, prisoners become increasingly vulnerable to drug use, making it difficult for them to escape the cycle of addiction and criminality.
Yaba and cannabis are the most commonly traded substances, with detainees even using mobile phones to coordinate the sale.
Talking to the Bangladesh Post, an ex-inmate said that a single yaba pill, which costs Tk 200-250 outside, is sold at Tk 500-600 inside the prison. Similarly, a piece of cigarette containing cannabis is sold at Tk 100-150.
These inflated prices reflect the desperation and demand among prisoners, and it is evident that those who control the drug trade inside are making hefty profits.
There have been some instances where inmates scuffled with prisons for drugs.
Families of inmates are worried over the drug abuse at jails, fearing that their loved ones are being drawn deeper into addiction and criminal activities instead of receiving rehabilitation.
The Kashimpur and Sylhet Central Jails have been flagged as high-risk areas where drug trading is rampant.
This grim reality has prompted experts and authorities to call for stricter measures.
Dr Md Tawohidul Haque, associate professor at the Institute of Social Welfare and Research of the University of Dhaka, has stressed the need for ‘zero tolerance’ against this internal drug trade.
He urged prison authorities concerned to implement modern technological capabilities to combat this growing crisis.
