Gold smuggling

It is disturbing to note that Bangladesh seems to be in serious danger of becoming a hub of gold smuggling. In fact, gold haul in the airports has become a regular feature. According to a report of this newspaper on Wednesday, Customs intelligence in a drive arrested a man who came from Singapore along with 43 gold bars from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday night. Gold smuggling has increased over the past few years. A number of local and international syndicates are said to be trafficking the precious metal from Middle Eastern countries into Bangladesh, much of which is later channeled overland to neighbouring India, one of the world's top gold importers.

The gold being seized at the airport is only the tip of the iceberg. Authorities estimate that efforts to apprehend gold smugglers are only successful in recovering 10 to 20 per cent of the actual volume of gold that is smuggled every year into or through Bangladesh. It is believed that most of it is then smuggled to India through land routes. There simply is no way that the carriers are the sole operators in the series of gold smuggling incidents. The carriers are recruited by other powerful quarters in exchange for some money.

Over the past few years, hundreds of cases have been filed against persons responsible for smuggling gold but the ring leaders behind these carriers always managed to stay out of the reach of the law. One of the reasons that gold is coming into Bangladesh through illegal means is because of the huge duty. The demand of gold is very high and the premiums are also high.

It is an open secret that Bangladeshi jewellers depend much on smuggled gold. They claim that importing gold through legal channels is too expensive and cumbersome for them. Gold smuggling syndicates are a major security issue because they directly involve airline workers, airport, and security officials. The security risks posed by smuggling syndicates operating with the collusion of corrupt individuals at airports make it an urgent priority to root out their activities.

The canker of corruption and criminality stemmed from gold smuggling must be rooted with the utmost urgency. There can be no tolerance of such criminality. As gold is a legal product, the government should reform the legal framework to make it easier to import and export gold through legitimate channels. Much if not most of the gold that is smuggled is believed to be illegally shipped to India, so co-operation between Bangladesh and India on facilitating legal trans-shipments is essential.

Gold smuggling

It is disturbing to note that Bangladesh seems to be in serious danger of becoming a hub of gold smuggling. In fact, gold haul in the airports has become a regular feature. According to a report of this newspaper on Wednesday, Customs intelligence in a drive arrested a man who came from Singapore along with 43 gold bars from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday night. Gold smuggling has increased over the past few years. A number of local and international syndicates are said to be trafficking the precious metal from Middle Eastern countries into Bangladesh, much of which is later channeled overland to neighbouring India, one of the worlds top gold importers. The gold being seized at the airport is only the tip of the iceberg. Authorities estimate that efforts to apprehend gold smugglers are only successful in recovering 10 to 20 per cent of the actual volume of gold that is smuggled every year into or through Bangladesh. It is believed that most of it is then smuggled to India through land routes. There simply is no way that the carriers are the sole operators in the series of gold smuggling incidents. The carriers are recruited by other powerful quarters in exchange for some money. Over the past few years, hundreds of cases have been filed against persons responsible for smuggling gold but the ring leaders behind these carriers always managed to stay out of the reach of the law. One of the reasons that gold is coming into Bangladesh through illegal means is because of the huge duty. The demand of gold is very high and the premiums are also high. It is an open secret that Bangladeshi jewellers depend much on smuggled gold. They claim that importing gold through legal channels is too expensive and cumbersome for them. Gold smuggling syndicates are a major security issue because they directly involve airline workers, airport, and security officials. The security risks posed by smuggling syndicates operating with the collusion of corrupt individuals at airports make it an urgent priority to root out their activities. The canker of corruption and criminality stemmed from gold smuggling must be rooted with the utmost urgency. There can be no tolerance of such criminality. As gold is a legal product, the government should reform the legal framework to make it easier to import and export gold through legitimate channels. Much if not most of the gold that is smuggled is believed to be illegally shipped to India, so co-operation between Bangladesh and India on facilitating legal trans-shipments is essential.