FT ONLINE

The draft of Narcotics Control Act 2018 has kept provisions of death penalty for production, trafficking, distribution and use of over 5gm of yaba or 25gm of heroin or cocaine.

The cabinet approved the draft, in principle, during its weekly meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, at the PMO on Monday.

The draft has also kept a provision of 15 years imprisonment for keeping less than five grams of yaba.

After the meeting Cabinet Secretary Md Shafiul Alam told the media that yaba, shisha bars and dope testing are new additions to the law.

Now all sorts of narcotic substances are covered by the law, he said.