He admitted that phensedyl smuggling has never been stopped completely and that the supply has slightly increased recently. “But we are on high alert and taking strict actions against narcotics,” he added.

According to the home ministry data, 5.66 lakh bottles of Phensedyl were seized in 2016 and 8.70 lakh the previous year.

In 2017, the seizure rose to 7.10 lakh bottles, and 7.15 lakh the next year. The recovery crossed 7.80 lakh bottles in the first ten months of last year.

Last month, the BGB recovered 40,741 bottles across the country, says a press release of the paramilitary force.

On the other hand, around 25 lakh yaba tablets were recovered by all law enforcement agencies in 2018. It was six lakh pills in the first six months of last year.

Sources say the yaba tablets are available in different areas of Dhaka but the open sale of the mad drugs mostly stopped after law enforcers started an anti-narcotics crackdown in May 2018.