Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Friday said the government is set to amend the law within the next couple of days to equip officials of the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) with modern firearms, including 9mm pistols, to effectively combat drug-related crimes.

He disclosed the information while speaking at a discussion and award-giving ceremony at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital, marking International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The minister said the DNC officials will also receive training so that they can deal with drug-related crimes in an efficient manner.

He said the department will be provided with detention facilities and trained sniffer dogs as part of efforts to strengthen its operational capacity.

Salahuddin also announced plans to establish advanced drug-testing laboratories in every district across the country. A proposal in this regard has already been made, he added.

Highlighting the burden of pending drug cases, he said around 80,000 cases remain unresolved in Dhaka alone, attributing the backlog to the shortage of judges.

The minister said the government will take initiatives to expedite case disposal by establishing courts with appropriate jurisdiction and prioritising cases based on their significance and volume.

Referring to outdated legal frameworks, he noted that punishment for gambling offences is still governed by a law enacted in 1867.

The government wants to build a stronger legal foundation and is also working to make cyber laws more robust, Salahuddin added.

A recent study conducted under the supervision of the DNC revealed that around 82 lakh people in Bangladesh are currently using one form or another of illicit drugs, accounting for approximately 4.88 percent of the country's total population.
The emergence of new synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs, commonly known as New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), has further exacerbated the problem of drug abuse in the country.