Up to 3,500 people are involved in illicit drug business in the capital, the Department of Narcotics Control said on Friday vowing to crack down on them soon.

Some of the listed people are directly involved in drug dealing, some are patrons or investors, Fazlur Rahman, Head and Additional Director of Department of Narcotics Control’s Dhaka Division, told a press conference in Dhaka.  

Recently, a team of the Narcotics Control Department (DNC) of Dhaka Metro-North arrested five drug dealers along with 560 grams of ice and 1,200 pieces of yaba worth Tk 90 lakh after conducting drives in Gulshan, Bhatara, Kuril and Ramna areas of the capital.

This was the largest-ever seizure of ice in Dhaka, claimed the agency.

Read: Detectives arrest fugitive drug dealer in Natore

The list of drug dealers was compiled after analyzing information from the imams, public representatives, locals, victims, drug addicts, previous drug related crimes and law enforcement agencies, he said.

A separate list of retail and drug addicts has also been made, he added.

He said the department is trying to bring the godfathers of drugs under the law. Many have given up the drug business because of the efforts taken by the law enforcement agencies. Some of them are patronizing the trade or investing in it, he said.

Read: 4-man band of drug dealers nabbed by DB

According to the Narcotics Control Act, in order to detain a drug dealer, drugs have to be seized from a his/her possession. And so, it is usually difficult to arrest the godfathers as the substance is usually carried by lower level retailers or dealers.

“However, we're trying to arrest the godfathers,” said the director.

Among others, the department's Dhaka Metropolitan North Deputy Director Rasheduzzaman and Assistant Director Mehdi Hasan were present at the press conference.