Omera, the largest LPG operator in Bangladesh, reaffirms its commitment to providing environmentally friendly alternative energy solutions with a recent roundtable discussion titled "The Impact of LPG as Clean Fuel on Health and Safety."
Despite repeated use of courier services by transnational syndicates to smuggle drugs through Bangladesh to a third country, the government has turned down a proposal to use the National Identity Card server to verify the identity of the product sender.
The Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) had placed the proposal before a virtual meeting of the National Narcotics Control Advisory Committee on December 28 last year. The DNC had said the courier and cargo service companies should be granted access to the NID server.
The advisory committee, led by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, also rejected another proposal seeking use of narcotics detection devices to check whether there are drugs in packets to be sent abroad by courier service companies.
To stop narcotics smuggling through national and international courier services, the Department of Narcotics Control has recommended National Identity Card server access for couriers.
The anti-drug authority of Bangladesh came up with the idea after it found that transnational syndicates are using the couriers to smuggle drugs into the Middle East, America, Australia and some countries in Asia.
Smuggling narcotics from neighbouring India and Myanmar, syndicates are using Bangladesh as a major transit route.
In just five months from June this year, the DNC seized around 14 consignments of drugs meant to be sent to Saudi Arabia and the US by air, Rameshwar Das, assistant director (intelligence) of DNC, told The Daily Star yesterday.
The last bilateral meeting was held in 2017.
Ahsanul briefed the media after the meeting.
The DNC had handed over such lists of clandestine labs to Myanmar several times before, but no visible action was taken at the time.
The DNC authorities, however, have expressed satisfaction over promises from Myanmar counterpart CCDAC.
During the briefing, DNC DG Ahsanul said they are quite optimistic about Myanmar s promises to curb yaba pills from coming into the country through the shared border. Myanmar s CCDAC informed us and also shared photos of operations and seizure of record numbers of narcotics, including yaba, in the last 11 months of the year. They are also fighting the enemy drugs and we are hopeful of positive outcomes of the promises, he said.
Bangladesh, Myanmar anti-drug authorities agree on joint border patrol
Photo: Star Star Online Report Star Online Report
Bangladesh and Myanmar anti-drug authorities agreed for joint border patrol and establishing liaison offices in a bid to stop yaba pill smuggling into Bangladesh from the neighbouring country.
The both authorities also promised for more intelligence sharing and vigilance in River Naf to check the smuggling. The decisions were made in virtual conference between Bangladesh s Department of Narcotic Control and Myanmar s Drug Enforcement Division (DED).
It was the fourth DG level talks between the two anti-drug authorities after a three-year interval.
Briefing reporters after the conference, DNC Director General Muhammed Ahsanul Jabbar said that Bangladesh emphasised on yaba pills smuggling issue in the conference and Myanmar authorities did not deny the smuggling into Bangladesh.