Active gold smugglers now target Bangladesh.
International smuggling rings have chosen Bangladesh as a safe transit route for gold smuggling. Gold is smuggled into the country every day from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Malaysia, and Singapore through air, sea, and land routes. Then, that gold is smuggled into India through border smuggling.
At least Tk 2.5 billion worth of gold ornaments and bars are smuggled into Bangladesh every day through three unprotected routes (air, sea, and land). The situation is so dire that in the last 5 years, 2,233 kg of gold was seized at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport alone. And in the last 10 years, 90 percent of the gold smuggled into the country has been smuggled through the borders of different districts. This information has come to light in a recent report prepared by a special intelligence agency.
The report says that some of those involved in gold smuggling and smuggling are traders, some are sponsors, and some are carriers. While some of the smugglers have been arrested in the past while carrying stolen gold, the godfathers of the smuggling ring have always remained undetected. As a result, most of the gold traders are leaning towards smuggling rather than making gold ornaments as per demand in the hope of more profit. According to the report, the list of those involved in gold smuggling at different times has already been sent to the Home Ministry.
It has been learned that the members of the ring have recently been smuggling gold by taking advantage of the baggage rules. In this case, expatriates are being used. Using the baggage rules, one category of passengers regularly bring gold from abroad in the name of travel. Members of other rings bring a certain amount of gold to the country after paying taxes and hand it over to the smuggling ring. Later, the ringleaders smuggle that gold to India through smuggling. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) is making changes to prevent this misuse of the baggage rules. The immigration police and detectives have started an investigation with the list of more than a hundred men and women of these rings. The rules were amended last year to prevent misuse of baggage rules. This time, the customs authorities have started working to bring more changes to it.
Dhaka Custom House sources said that 2,233.279 kg of stolen gold was seized at Hazrat Shahjalal Airport from the 2020-21 fiscal year to October 24 of the 2024-25 fiscal year. Of this, 507 kg 838 grams of gold was seized among 11,346 kg 671 grams of gold ornaments and gold bars released in the 2020-21 fiscal year; 697 kg 669 grams of gold was seized among 31,381 grams of gold ornaments and gold bars released in the 2021-22 fiscal year; 557 kg 643 grams of gold was seized among 43,200 kg of gold ornaments and gold bars released in the 2022-23 fiscal year; The amount of gold seized in the fiscal year 2023-24 out of 17,894 kg 375 grams of gold ornaments and gold bars released, including 417 kg 435 grams, and in the fiscal year 2024-25 (till October), out of 1,260 kg of gold ornaments and gold bars released, 55 kg 694 grams of stolen gold were seized at this airport.
Customs sources say that this huge amount of gold brought legally under the baggage rules is not in the country. It has been smuggled out of the country in some way or the other. The current baggage rules do not specify how many times a passenger can bring gold. This time, the baggage rules will be amended to limit how many times a passenger can bring gold in a year. A person will not be able to bring gold more than 3 times in a year. For this, a software is being developed, which will contain information about the passengers who brought this gold. If a passenger brings gold more than three times in a year, his/her travel abroad may also be stopped.
According to Shahjalal Airport Customs sources, a list of such passengers who regularly go abroad and bring gold under the baggage rules is being compiled. Hundreds of people from different parts of the country have already been identified who regularly go to Dubai or Saudi Arabia to bring gold and hand it over to the smuggling syndicate in the country. The current baggage rules stipulate that a person can bring one gold bar. According to this, a tax of Tk 40,000 is payable on a bar weighing 116/117 grams. In this way, a passenger can bring gold as many times as he wants. For this, members of the smuggling syndicate are regularly going to Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia to bring gold bars. Some smugglers are bringing gold by paying passengers’ money from behind.
Dhaka Custom House Commissioner Mobara Khanam told our time that the authorities are working to change the baggage rules. A software has already been developed. To prevent gold smuggling, the help of sources has to be taken. In this case, some money has to be spent on them; this is called source money. But we currently have a crisis of source money. We have informed the NBR about this. The air passengers of the country from which the gold comes are being kept under strict surveillance. A large part of the passengers who travel abroad frequently are involved in gold smuggling. A list of more than a hundred such passengers traveling to Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore has been given to the Immigration Police. They have also started investigating them.
According to Bangladesh Jewelers Association (BAJUS), Bangladesh is mainly a transit route for international gold smuggling rings. Gold smuggling and smuggling rings are spread across the country and abroad. There are members of smuggling-centric rings in the border areas as well. The main route for legal and illegal gold to enter the country is Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. Some come through Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong. At least Tk 2.5 billion worth of gold ornaments and bars are smuggled into the country every day through air, sea and land routes.
Intelligence sources say that the amount of gold being smuggled is several times more than the amount seized at the airport and border areas. Dishonest officials and employees cooperate in exchange for money to remove illegal gold shipments from the airport.
Shafiqul Islam alias Golden Shafi is on the list of gold smuggling mafia of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police. In the 1990s, he used to sell towels by ferrying them. He developed a friendship with them by giving false testimony in a murder case on behalf of customs officials. Using this friendship, he eventually built a gold smuggling network. The CID is investigating a case under the Money Laundering Act against Shafi. The law enforcement agencies and the Home Ministry also list Monir Hossain alias Golden Monir as being involved in gold smuggling. Monir is one of Shafi’s associates. RAB arrested him from Merul Badda’s house on November 21, 2020. He was recently acquitted as the charges in the case of recovering a huge amount of gold from his house were ‘not proven’.
The Home Ministry and law enforcement agencies list Abu Ahmed of Chittagong as being involved in gold smuggling. He is the godfather of gold smuggling in Chittagong. The CID has traced his assets worth Tk 721.17 crore. The CID’s Financial Crime Unit has submitted an investigation report to the court.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the NSI Chittagong Airport Team and Customs Intelligence officials seized 733 grams of gold ornaments from two passengers, including an actress, who had returned from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at the Chattogram Shah Amanat International Airport. The arrested persons are: Anamika Juthi, a resident of Mirpur, Dhaka, and Mohammad Raihan Iqbal, a resident of Raujan, Chittagong.
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