The government is going to amend the “Narcotics Control Act 1990” to include death penalty for carrying over 250 pieces (25 grams) of ATS (amphetamine-type stimulants) drugs such as Yaba.

The maximum punishment under the law for carrying same quantity of ATS is 15 years of imprisonment.

This new provision has been included in the law's draft amendment, Mukul Jyoti Chakma, deputy director of Department of Narcotics Control (DNC), told The Daily Star yesterday. “Several other changes will also be brought in the law, including power to conduct mobile court to ensure capital punishment for drug traders,” he also said.

According to DNC, the draft of “Narcotics Control Act 2017” was sent to the home ministry on March 21 this year.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at a programme yesterday said, “We have already taken steps to amend the Narcotics Control Act 1990 to ensure the highest punishment for drug traders.”

The minister was addressing a discussion on the occasion of International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking 2017 in the capital. Dhaka Ahsania Mission was awarded first prize for its contribution in the field of drug prevention at the programme.

Omar Faruk Chowdhury, MP and member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on home ministry; Farid Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, secretary of security services division of home ministry; and Jamal Uddin Ahmed, director general of DNC; also spoke.