Bangladesh's government on Monday approved the draft of "Narcotics Control Act-2018" with provisions for stringent punishment on drug offenders.

The draft was approved at a cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters.

He said the proposed law stipulates that a drug offender will risk being sentenced up to 15 years in jail if he or she is found with less than five grams of the drug.

The maximum punishment is death penalty for production, trafficking, distribution and use of over five gram of yaba, a drug often used for sexual stimulation and addiction, or 25 gram of heroin or cocaine, he said.

In the wake of surging trade in drugs specially yaba, Prime Minister Hasina in May this year announced the launch of an aggressive war on illegal drugs in the country.