High-priced drugs worth some Tk 25 billion are brought in the country every year illegally to dispense the medical needs prescribed by foreign physicians, as government agencies look on.
A source at Bangladesh Chemist and Druggist Association said every year a good number of people go abroad for treatment and the foreign doctors prescribe the drugs that are available in their countries.
He said when the patients come back to the country, there is a demand for foreign medicines and it is met through smuggling.
An official at the Directorate-General of Drug Administration (DGDA) said some drugs are being smuggled in even though these are available on the domestic market.
"Currently a good number of physicians working in the posh private hospitals are also prescribing foreign drugs despite local availability," he said.
There are always some people in bordering areas who wait for orders of drugs and they can collect those within a day.
Another DGDA official, also requesting anonymity, said the government sometimes goes for crackdown and seizes a good amount of foreign medicines but it is not clear where those medicines go after the seizure.
A source at Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI) said the contraband should be destroyed instantly and there should be expert opinions whether the smuggled drugs actually have medicinal value or not.
He said though there are no estimations of smuggled drugs, the amount could be more than Tk 25 billion.
"Apart from drugs, a good amount of other products and food supplements are coming in the country under false declaration," he said.
A source in the government's drug office said the regular routine-wise crackdowns are conducted but as there is shortage of manpower, it is difficult to stop smuggling by such action.
It is not possible to stop entry of drugs which are brought by the patients as per the physicians' prescription, he added.
He said currently more than 97 per cent drugs are locally produced and to oversee import of the rest three per cent there is a government committee.
The committee is responsible for allowing or importing drugs that are still not being manufactured domestically, he noted.
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