Dhaka (PTI): Emergency-ruled Bangladesh has raised a new female police intelligence unit as criminal activities by women were on the rise in the country, officials and reports said here on Saturday.

The Daily Star newspaper said the authorities formed Special Women Police Contingent (SWPC) recently with a view to curb sex trade including forced prostitution, drug peddling, and trafficking of women and children.

A police spokesman confirmed the report saying growing numbers of women were being engaged by criminal syndicates for swindling people, trafficking other women and children, drug peddling, smuggling.

"Male police detectives do not often have access to the world of women criminals and the new unit comprising the police women alone will help us fight them," he said.

According to a recent Narcotics Control Department report, some 1,00,000 people were engaged in illegal drug trade comprising 40 per cent of women.

Police officials said SWPC already unearthed evidence of several cases helping police to arrest culprits and in one such case an assassin doctor was arrested for murdering wife as the women detectives developed friendship with his paramour lover to unearth the plot.

In another case, the new unit helped police to arrest suspects who had been involved in a gold robbery in a bank in Dhaka as the women detectives first became friends with a woman suspect that led to arrests of the rest.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police already set up an office for SWPC at the office of detective branch initially with 24 women police led by an Assistant Commissioner (AC).

Officials said a process was underway to hire 3,000 more women in police soon with a plan to expand the SWPC network across the country.