Monday, 29 May, 2023
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Illegal drugs from dark web, paid in bitcoin

Transaction of money through cryptocurrency to buy illegal drugs from abroad continues.

Some educated youths are mainly smuggling highly-priced drugs, including Lysergic acid diethylamide and Crystal methamphetamine, into the country using the digital currency.

Jafrullah Kajol, additional director (Dhaka Divisional Office) of the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), said that they arrested a big number of drug traders who smuggled drugs by making payment through the digital currency.

“Such crimes are being committed as we have a lack of technological capability to trace the criminals and to stop the transaction of the currency,” he said.

“The DNC has already sent a project to increase technological capability to the Home Ministry,” he said.

On July 5 last year, the DNC arrested Nazmul Islam with 0.75 grams of LSD from Vatara in the capital.

Subrata Sarkar, assistant commissioner (Dhaka Metro South Zone) of the DNC, said that Nazmul was a member of a drug smuggling gang.

He smuggled LSD from abroad using cryptocurrency. He was also arrested for selling the same drug in 2020.  After getting out of jail on bail, he returned to the same job. The officer said that he mainly sold the drug to the upper class.

On May 15, 2021, Hafizur Rahman killed himself near Dhaka Medical College Hospital after taking LSD. After his death, the matter of LSD and Ice came to the fore.