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Why drug cases fail in court
A Daily Sun review of five judgments finds incomplete chargesheets, unidentified drug sources, absent investigators and witnesses are letting accused walk free in over 50% of narcotics cases
Incomplete chargesheets, charges framed without naming drug networks’ sources, and the routine absence of raid conductors, investigators and witnesses in court have allowed accused persons in narcotics cases to secure acquittal, a Daily Sun analysis of five drug case judgments has found.
The cases, filed by police, the Department of Narcotics Control (DNC) and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at Chawkbazar, Paltan Model, Uttara Model, Jatrabari and Sutrapur police stations between 2009 and 2023, were reviewed for how they were investigated, prosecuted and eventually decided.
Under Section 51 of the Narcotics Control Act 2018, courts must complete trial and deliver verdict within 120 working days of charges being framed. Several of the cases reviewed took more than a decade to reach judgment.
The judgments
SI Mazaharul Islam of Jatrabari police station arrested Mohammad Sujon on 26 January 2010 in Shanir Akhra with five bottles of phensedyl, later confirmed as narcotic in a chemical test.
On 14 February 2010, SI Arifur Rahman filed a chargesheet against Sujon alone, without identifying the source of the drugs, and the court framed charges without questioning sources or ringleaders.
On 2 August 2023, Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Khandaker ATM Tofayel acquitted Sujon, noting that despite summonses, warrants of witness and non-bailable warrants, “the prosecution has been unable to produce a single witness before the court,” and that the case had remained pending for a lengthy period of 13 years for recording evidence, wasting the court’s time.
A team led by SI Sohag Matubbor of Chawkbazar Police Station arrested Shakil Ahmed Jony, 34, near Chan Community Centre on Dalan Road on 19 May 2023 with 10 Buprenorphine injections, in the presence of witnesses Lokman Hossain and Md Sakib.
SI Ashiqur Rahman later placed a chargesheet against Jony alone, without naming others in the network. On 1 April 2026, Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad Shahidul Islam acquitted Jony, ruling the prosecution had failed to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt.
Witness Sakib testified he had no knowledge of the incident and denied signing the seizure list; neither the officer who lodged the case, the seizure-list preparer, nor the investigating officer appeared to testify.
SI Obaidur Rahman of Uttara Model Police Station filed a case on 19 June 2010 against Abdul Halim after seizing 42 bottles of beer in Uttara Sector-10.
SI Arifur Rahman’s chargesheet, filed that July, did not identify others involved or the source of the item.
On 30 July 2023, Additional Sessions Judge Khandaker ATM Tofayel acquitted Halim, citing the prosecution’s repeated failure to produce any witness despite summons and warrants, “resulting in wastage of the court’s valuable working time.”
RAB-3’s Deputy Assistant Director Abdul Karim arrested Tawhidul Islam Turjo on 10 June 2009 with 22 bottles of phensedyl at a shop in Sutrapur. SI Rabiul Islam’s chargesheet, filed that July, omitted the sources and others involved.
On 19 November 2024, Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Jahanara Ferdous acquitted Turjo, noting the prosecution neither produced witnesses despite repeated summonses nor explained their absence.
Helal Uddin Bhuiyan of DNC’s Kotwali circle filed a case on 10 December 2014 against Jahirul Islam Swapan and Helal Sarkar after a raid on a shop, “Bock Land,” recovered 35 bottles of foreign liquor and 12 cans of beer.
DNC Inspector Shahinul Kabir filed the chargesheet. On 27 January this year, Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Shahidul Islam acquitted both, ruling the prosecution failed to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt, as neither the FIR-lodging officer, the seizure-list preparer nor the investigating officer testified.
Statistics
DNC figures show 163,731 cases were filed against 174,425 people between January 2020 and August this year; as of June, only 17,438 had been convicted.
From 2001 to 2024, 58,559 cases were disposed of, with 30,085 – 51.38% -- ending in acquittal. Of 63,093 accused in those cases, 33,076, or 52.43%, were acquitted.
Expert opinions
Analyst Lt Col (retd) Didarul Alam called for balancing the responsibilities of complainants and investigating officers, accuracy in chemical testing, and investigator accountability.
“When, after a long period, the accused ends up being acquitted, serious questions arise about the depth of the investigation,” he said, adding that operations should trace an entire network – financiers, storage and distribution – rather than stopping at a single carrier.
Advocate Md Siam said a judge can order reinvestigation where a chargesheet is based on an incomplete probe.
Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Court Public Prosecutor Omar Faruk Faruqi said the government is working to speed up disposals and raise convictions through special tribunals, and that the absence of witnesses remains a central cause of delay and acquittal.
He said “floating” or transient witnesses are often unreachable when phone numbers or addresses change, and that police witnesses, particularly investigating officers, are hard to produce because of frequent transfers.
He proposed including officers’ ID and mobile numbers in chargesheets, and escalating non-appearance to the Inspector General of Police.
Comments of authorities
Additional Inspector General (Crime and Ops) Khondoker Rafiqul Islam said retired officers are often reluctant to testify without an allowance, and that testimony given in court sometimes goes unrecorded and is deferred, discouraging officers from returning.
“If we learn that serving police officers did not appear before the courts to testify, we take action,” he said, adding that failing to identify the source of seized drugs amounts to “a dereliction of duty.”
DNC Director (Ops) Syeda Zannat Ara said raiders and investigators are always instructed to cooperate fully with the courts.