The Anti-corruption Commission has initiated an investigation of the wealth of 300 drug traffickers who became 'millionaires’ through the illegal drug trade.
The commission claims it has prepared a list of ‘drug lords’ based on the information of Department of Narcotics Control, detective branches of law enforcement agencies and the complaints it has received.
The ACC will ‘soon’ write to the immigration authority banning those listed persons from travelling abroad, said officials.
The commission initiated a drive against the illegal wealth of drug traffickers amidst a nationwide drug crackdown and controversy over killings deaths in ‘shootouts’ with law enforcers.
The ACC has already opened 77 files to investigate complaints against those traffickers, ACC secretary Md Shamsul Arefin said.
Officials at 22 integrated district level offices of the commission will investigate the complaints against those traffickers under the supervision of ACC divisional directors in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna, Chattogram, Sylhet and Barishal.
“The list includes the names of kingpins and other drug dealers, as well as public representatives of Teknaf Upazila, a bordering area along with few names of Narcotics Control Department officials,” an ACC official said.
“The ACC is about to take legal action against those who acquired illegal wealth through the drug trade. We have already started the investigation and no one will be exempted in this regard,” said ACC director Shamsul Arefin.
However, the commission can only take action against those drug traffickers ‘acquiring wealth outside known sources,’ according to Article 27 of ACC Act-2004, while the drive against drugs is mainly done by law enforcement agencies.
The article provides scope to sentence the accused to a maximum 10 years jail and minimum 3 years jail, if convicted; along with fines and property confiscation.
The list includes names of 141 drug dealers provided by Narcotics Control Department and 110 names given by different detective organisations, while the rest of the names were included from media reports, written complaints and complaints filed through the ACC hotline.
The list may become longer, said ACC the secretary.
A list of 49 ‘kingpins’, dealing in drugs, has been received and the list includes the names of 12 people from Teknaf, the bordering area with Myanmar, one from Cox’s Bazar, one from Chattogram, five from Feni, 22 from Rajshahi division, two from Narayanganj, two from Lakshmipur, one from Faridpur and three from Dhaka.
Nazrul Islam Nazu, one of those named in the list, died in a ‘shootout’ with police on May 27, bdnews24 reported.
However, ACC officials are not aware if anyone else named in the list has been killed during a ‘shootout’ with police.