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A recent study has found significant involvement of minors in Dhaka’s illicit drug trade, with people aged 15 or younger accounting for 27.4 per cent of drug sellers surveyed. Children were most commonly involved in selling yaba, the study found.
The study, titled “Unveiling Patterns and Sociodemographic Characteristics of Drug Trafficking in Dhaka City, Bangladesh,” was published on August 10 in the international journal PLOS ONE.
Researchers collected data between April 23, 2023 and February 5, 2024 through face-to-face interviews with 1,016 people involved in drug sales in Dhaka. The participants had an average age of 26.7 years.
Besides yaba, children were also significantly involved in heroin sales, according to the study. Lack of employment opportunities was the reason most frequently cited by participants for children becoming involved in drug dealing.
The study also highlighted the difficult socioeconomic conditions of many people involved in the trade. About 55.7 per cent had primary-level education or less, while 28.6 per cent were living on the streets and another 10.4 per cent identified themselves as floating or homeless.
Nearly one-quarter of the women surveyed reported being involved in sex work. The researchers also identified coercion as one of the factors contributing to the involvement of women and children in drug dealing.
The study found differences in the distribution of drug-selling activities across Dhaka. Of the participants, 253 reported selling only cannabis, 285 only yaba and 228 both cannabis and yaba.
Those selling only yaba were more commonly found around Kamalapur Railway Station and in Badda. Sellers dealing in both cannabis and yaba were more prevalent in Farmgate and Tejgaon, while those involved in cannabis and heroin sales were more frequently found in Savar and Paltan.
The researchers also identified several routes through which drugs are reportedly brought into Dhaka.
According to the study, one major heroin route runs from Lahore in Pakistan through the Wagah border and Patna in India before entering Bangladesh. Cannabis was reported to enter through routes from India via Brahmanbaria and Cumilla.
The study also identified India’s Mizoram and Meghalaya, along with Myanmar, as sources of yaba entering Bangladesh. The drugs are subsequently transported to markets in Dhaka through various routes, it said.
The researchers, however, cautioned that the findings should not be considered a comprehensive representation of all drug sellers in Dhaka.
Participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling rather than probability-based random sampling. The findings therefore primarily reflect the characteristics and patterns of a high-risk population involved in the drug trade.
The researchers also cautioned that participants’ explanations for becoming involved in drug dealing were based on self-reported information. Such responses are descriptive and should not be interpreted as establishing direct cause-and-effect relationships.