A stranger appeared and suddenly the lazing people rushed to him. "Koy puria?" (How many), asked one of them, offering the customer "pure and original" drugs (heroin).

"One puria (a sachet) is only Tk 70; it is original," a young girl said, trying to attract this correspondent (the stranger) to the spot. "You do not look chi (addict). Have you ever taken it before?" said another drug trader rather doubtfully.

The drug spot adjacent to this kitchen market is known as "sweeper potti" or "city colony," where around 100 sweeper families who work for the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) live.

Most residents in this slum are either addicted or involved in drug business, locals alleged. "The slum has become a crime zone where drug business and sex trade are an open secret," said Rakib Hasan, a regular customer at Town Hall kitchen market.

"Last week while I was shopping in the market, one of them snatched my purse and ran away," said Sharmin Akhtar, another customer.

"Policemen were patrolling nearby but they didn't make any attempt to catch the miscreants," she added.

Zakir Hossain, who lives in Shershah Suri Road, Mohammadpur, takes a bus to Motijheel from Asad Gate. He said he has observed some addicts taking heroine openly beside the boundary wall of Green Herald International School as he passes through Asad Avenue daily.

"Pedestrians, police, personnel of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) -2 pass by the place daily, but they have not taken any step to restrain the users and addicts," Zakir said.

The slum with nearly a hundred small tin-shed shanties along eight narrow lanes remains extremely dirty.

On a visit to the slum last Sunday, Rebeka (not her real name) who lives with her mother and two sisters, offered this correspondent drugs. They are all involved in drug selling and sex trade.

The small room where they live has a 21-inch colour television, a large refrigerator and a deep freezer.

Rebeka's 60-year-old mother however advised this correspondent, who posed as an addict, not to take heroin.

"My three daughters are in this hell. It is better to drink Bangla (locally made liquor). Heroin will destroy you," she said.

"I have no way out of this hell," Rebeka's mother wept. But she stopped when a middle-aged woman came to pay her Tk 15,000. Rebeka's wholesale drug business is worth about Tk 60,000.

"My mother is a city corporation sweeper. She started selling drugs around 15 years ago," Rebeka said.

She said drug prices have increased recently after the arrest of some top smugglers. "They used to supply drugs. I do not know their real names," she said.

At this point, one person came to inform Rebeka about a police drive, who locked her shanty and stood in front of another.

Ten to 15 minutes later a team, led by an inspector of the Department of Narcotics Control, Mohammadpur Circle, appeared at the scene and arrested one drug peddler with three grams of heroin.

Rebeka told the anti-drug team, "Why have you come here? Do we sell drugs? If you find even one drop of drug, you can arrest us."

Then one of the police constables put his hand on Rebeka's head and said: "You know it is our routine drive, do not worry."

When asked, the inspector seeking anonymity told Star City: "They (drug addicts) sell drugs in front of policemen deployed here and leave the place just before the drive."

Mohammadpur Police Station is only half kilometre away from the drug-den. Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the police station, Shahnur Khan said: "We file on an average, five to seven cases a month against the drug peddlers."

"About 200 cases are pending with this police station for the last one year," he added.

When asked how the addicts are continuing their business despite the huge number they file, Shahnur said that they take action against the addicts every day.

"The Rab, Detective Branch (DB), Cobra and Department of Narcotics Control have taken action and arrested many addicts from the place," he added.

Sources said that the drug peddlers pay a huge amount of money to a section of the law enforcement agency to turn a blind eye to their businesses.

But the OC denied the allegation. "They never have any money and even if they do theyspend it on drugs," he said.