Viagra Seized From Bangladeshi Haj Pilgrims

Customs officials at the Zia International Airport here have seized large quantities of Viagra, other banned drugs, pornographic material and precious stones that Haj pilgrims were trying to smuggle out of the country.

Reports of seizures and arrests have come even as authorities are struggling to send the pilgrims on the journey to Saudi Arabia amidst chaos caused by disruption of flight schedules of the ailing national carrier Bangladesh Biman International.

Long delays have led to angry demonstrations by the pilgrims, media reports said.

A joint task force of customs and the Bangladesh Air Force seized over 5,000 Viagra and Munish pills, prescription drugs used for treating male impotence, from the luggage of a Haj pilgrim on Nov 22. More than 6,000 precious stones were seized Tuesday from the luggage of another pilgrim, the Daily Star reported Wednesday.

In two separate drives Tuesday, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) seized illegal drugs worth about $320,000 and 50,000 CDs with pornographic movies.

Humayun Kabir, additional commissioner of customs at the international airport, said during luggage scanning the joint task force discovered large quantities of banned pharmaceutical drugs and 47 cans of zarda (chewing tobacco) inside the luggage of a man called Shahdur Rahman at a camp where pilgrims are housed before making the journey.

Rahman, however, managed to leave for Jeddah. The customs commissioner said he had asked the immigration officials here to arrest him on his return.

Humayun said they found the precious gems while scanning the luggage of another pilgrim, Ali Azam. The luggage had 696 rings studded with precious stones and 5,968 other gems hidden inside.

During interrogation, Azam confessed to smuggling out gems while in the guise of a pilgrim for the last four years. (DNA)
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Drug Use On The Rise In British Soldiers : Ministry Of Defence

Eighteen British servicemen test positive for drug use each week, according to data from the Ministry of Defence.

Since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, the use of cocaine has trebled and the drug is now found in the majority of those soldiers who fail drugs tests.

More than 1,500 forces personnel (almost 1 per cent of soldiers in the Army) have tested positive for drugs since the beginning of 2006 -- 80 per cent of whom were using class A drugs -- according to figures from the Ministry's random drug testing programme.

The number of British Army personnel testing positive for drugs rose from 518 in 2003 to 769 in 2006 -- a 48 per cent increase.

Cocaine accounted for 423 failed tests, far ahead of cannabis (221) and Ecstasy (95).

However, addiction experts opined that soldiers who take drugs often use them to self-medicate and escape an ''uncomfortable and dangerous reality where death is ever present''.

''Soldiers are in a particularly difficult situation. We are talking about people going out to fight wars, and we have to be sympathetic to the immense stress that they are under,'' Robert Lefever, director of Promis, one of Britain's longest-established addiction treatment centres was quoted by the Independent as saying.

''There will be some who take drugs as a way of dealing with the pressures that they face, not simply to get high. Soldiers are having a bad time at the moment and deserve more support and understanding,'' he said.

According to the MoD, since the start of 2006 the Army has had 1,397 positive drug tests and the highest percentage of hard drugs (80 per cent), while only 88 Navy personnel have tested positive (76 per cent for class A drugs) and only 27 Royal Air Force personnel (67 per cent for class A drugs).

The tests are carried out while soldiers are back at base in the UK, Cyprus or Germany, and a failed test usually means instant dismissal from the forces.

An Defence Ministry spokesman said drug use in the armed services was far lower than in the population at large. (UNI)

***** So many have had to suffer their personal hell due to the folly of two men - Bush and Blair.
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