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.

Police arrested two suspected drug peddlers along with 10,000 Yaba pills from sadar upazila on Thursday.

A suspected drug trader was killed in a clash between two groups of criminals over controlling drug business in Hatrampur Shalbagan area in Bochaganj upazila early Tuesday.