59pc of drug cases end without conviction

Most of the accused, even those caught red-handed, in drug related cases end up being acquitted during trial. A Prothom Alo investigation found that 59 per cent of drug-related cases in Bangladesh ultimately cannot be proven in court. In other words, defendants in 59 per cent of such cases are not convicted.

This finding comes from an analysis of verdicts in 500 drug-related cases disposed of in courts across 26 districts, including Dhaka. Among these, defendants were acquitted in 296 cases, while convictions occurred in only 204 — a conviction rate of just 41 per cent.

These 500 verdicts reviewed by Prothom Alo were delivered between January 2021 and June 2025, involving cases filed between 2005 and 2021.

The investigation also revealed that in none of these 500 cases were any persons other than those arrested with the drugs ever identified. No new information emerged during investigations beyond what was initially written in the case statements (FIRs). The charge sheets (submitted to court after investigation) contained no details about drug financiers, patrons, or protectors. As a result, the masterminds behind the drug trade remain beyond reach.

To understand why convictions fail even when defendants are caught red-handed, Prothom Alo reviewed verdicts from different cases and identified 16 key reasons. The first six are: faulty case statements (FIRs), weak investigations, absence of public or neutral witnesses (individuals not part of the operation but who observed it), improper seizure lists, contradictory statements by law enforcement officers in court, and questions surrounding chemical test reports (for example, the FIR states the yaba pills were pink, but the lab report says they were orange).

Additionally, ten more weaknesses were found that contributed to acquittals. These include no testimony by the complainant and investigating officer, failure to verify the accused’s address, filing a case in the wrong police station, the same officer serving as both complainant and investigator, seized evidence not being presented in court, absence of any witnesses, no testimony by law enforcement officers (sometimes from the Department of Narcotics Control), lack of supervision by senior officers during investigation, and negligence by the prosecution.

The investigation took 20 months. Between March 2024 and August 2025, Prothom Alo collected copies of 1,057 verdicts in drug-related cases from different courts. Then, 500 of these were randomly selected and reviewed over the following two months.

Prothom Alo found that in 145 cases, the main reason for acquittal was the absence of neutral witnesses in court. In 92 other cases, the so-called “neutral witnesses” told judges they had not actually been present during the drug seizure. Thus, in 237 out of 296 acquittal cases, the lack of credible witnesses led to acquittal.

In another 48 cases, inconsistencies were found in searches, case statements, and investigations. Often, the individuals listed as witnesses at the time of filing the case were not actually present during the incident. Searches during drug raids were not properly conducted, and discrepancies appeared between the seizure list and the FIR. These initial errors made it impossible to ensure convictions.

For instance, on 29 July, 2015, a drug seizure case was filed at Badalgachhi Police Station in Naogaon, with one person arrested. The verdict came on 28 August, 2023, acquitting the accused. The court observed that the two “neutral witnesses” presented by the prosecution knew nothing about the incident.

In 2024, the Police Headquarters conducted a study titled “Absence of Witnesses in Criminal Cases: The Way Forward.” It cited the example of fake witnesses in drug cases — one individual served as a witness in five different drug cases filed at different times, though he was never present at the scene.

Professor Muhammad Umar Faruk of Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University’s Department of Criminology and Police Science, who contributed to that study, told Prothom Alo that this occurred in the Sylhet region. The man was a police informant who was called whenever a witness was needed and would simply sign seizure documents.

Officially, the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) is responsible for drug control operations in Bangladesh, though police conduct the most raids. Other forces such as the RAB, BGB, and Coast Guard also run anti-drug drives, and in special or hill tracts areas, the Bangladesh Army conducts such operations too. However, the DNC and police handle investigations.

Ashiq Saeed, Additional Deputy Inspector General (Special Crime Management) at Police Headquarters, admitted that drug patrons remain out of reach. He told Prothom Alo that the police are now considering ways to bring these patrons under the law, and instructions have been given to field-level officers accordingly.

In January 2024, a Narail court noted that while the seizure list described the yaba pills as light pink, the chemical test report said they were orange — suggesting the evidence sent to the lab was not the same as what was seized. This case involved the recovery of 30 yaba pills.

In December 2023, a Dhaka court observed that while the investigation report stated that five yaba pills had been sent for chemical testing, the lab report indicated only two were tested. Such numerical discrepancies raised doubts about whether the seized pills were ever actually tested. All defendants were acquitted.

Prothom Alo found that many cases collapse in court due to investigative errors and negligence. In 23 cases, all defendants were acquitted solely because of issues with chemical test reports. In another case in Netrakona involving heroin, the investigating officer failed to submit the test report to court — leading to the acquittal of all accused in January 2023.

Chemical testing is mandatory in drug cases to scientifically determine whether the seized item is indeed a narcotic and, if so, what kind. The result must be submitted by the investigating officer. The type of drug determines the applicable punishment.

In 126 of the 296 unproven cases, investigating officers did not testify in court. The complainant failed to testify in 79 cases, and neither testified in 66 cases. Other members of the raiding teams failed to testify in 97 cases.
In 55 cases, contradictory statements by law enforcement members led to acquittal. In 29 cases, no witnesses at all were produced.

Court observations in such verdicts note that repeated summonses failed to bring complainants or investigators to testify, leaving judges no choice but to acquit. Contradictions among law enforcement witnesses also raised doubts about the authenticity of drug raids, benefiting defendants.

DNC filed a case on 9 September, 2021, over the seizure of five grams of crystal meth (“ice”) in Baridhara, Dhaka. The sole accused was acquitted in August 2023. Among five DNC officers listed as witnesses, only two — not including the investigator — testified.

At a 2021 press briefing, the DNC had described the accused as a member of a “notorious network distributing ice from Myanmar.”

When asked about Prothom Alo’s findings, the DNC said in a written response that they have instructed offices to collect verdict copies from courts where acquittals occurred due to weak FIRs or investigations, and that disciplinary action will follow if negligence is found.

According to Police Headquarters crime data, from 2020 to 2024, a total of 957,107 criminal cases were filed nationwide, of which 364,809 (38 per cent) were drug cases — the highest among all categories. Drug trafficking carries the death penalty.

Police data also show that drug-related cases are the most frequent annually, followed by cases involving violence against women and children (10 per cent).

A 2016 Detective magazine (a regular police publication) special issue during Police Week featured an article by then–Additional DIG Shah Alam titled “Drug Financing and Investigation of Drug Cases.” He retired in October 2023 as an Additional IGP.

Shah Alam wrote that FIRs typically target only drug users, carriers, or small dealers, leaving distributors, godfathers, financiers, protectors, and border smugglers unidentified. Investigations are often perfunctory, with no effective supervision.

He told Prothom Alo that FIRs and investigations in drug cases remain superficial year after year, allowing key offenders to escape justice. Without changing this trend, curbing drug proliferation will be impossible.

Prothom Alo interviewed 20 field-level officers from the DNC and police about why investigations are so weak. All said their performance is measured by the number of drug seizures and cases filed — not by the quality of investigations or convictions. There are no rewards or penalties for investigation performance, so they focus more on raids than on court processes.

This echoes Shah Alam’s 2016 observation that success indicators for anti-drug agencies are “laughably weak and aimless.” Performance is measured by the number of raids, amount of drugs seized, and quick-trial convictions — not by dismantling networks.

For example, in a drug case filed at Jatrabari Police Station on 13 July, 2020, three people were arrested with 7,200 yaba pills. They named five others during interrogation, but four names were dropped from the charge sheet because their addresses could not be verified. The case is still under trial.

According to DNC data, in 2024, law enforcement seized 22.8 million yaba pills — down from 42.9 million in 2023. Other seizures included 503 kg of heroin, 130 kg of cocaine, and 572,865 bottles of Phensedyl.

Experts say drug raids declined after July 2024 due to weakened police operations, but this does not mean trafficking has reduced. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that globally, only about 10 per cent of trafficked drugs are seized.

The latest DNC survey shows 8.3 million drug users in Bangladesh, mostly men, but including women and children. A 2018 National Institute of Mental Health survey had estimated 3.6 million users.

A 2023 UNCTAD report stated that drug trafficking causes an annual outflow of USD 481 million (about Tk 5,900 crore) from Bangladesh, placing the country fifth globally in drug-related money laundering.

Supreme Court lawyer Abu Hena Razzaki told Prothom Alo that drug godfathers often have political ties — sometimes as senior ruling party leaders — enjoying collusion with police and administration. Without action against these politically linked godfathers, Bangladesh’s drug problem cannot improve.

Police Headquarters issued a directive on 11 October, 2020, detailing how drug case investigations should be carried out. A similar order was issued by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police on 30 June, 2020. Both required identifying entire drug networks and tracing financial flows.

Prothom Alo reviewed investigation reports from 20 DMP-area drug cases currently under trial. None complied with these directives. Investigations stopped with the carrier’s arrest, without identifying the network, source, or destination.

For example, on 6 October, 2020, Paltan police arrested two men with 800 yaba pills and filed a case. The charge sheet named only those two, with no additional suspects. The information in the FIR and charge sheet was nearly identical.

The investigating officer, Raihan Kabir (then–Sub inspector of Paltan police station, now posted in Rangpur), told Prothom Alo on 3 November, 2025, that he no longer remembered details of the case.

Experts say the government must issue a strong message to ensure proper investigations and make the prosecution more active during trials.

Professor Muhammad Umar Faruk said that for years, responsible agencies have conducted weak, superficial investigations into organised drug crimes. Failing to identify and prosecute the real culprits shows deep institutional apathy.