Shah Alam Nur :
The country’s three airports are being used as safer routes for foreign currency smuggling, officials said. The smugglers exploit the country’s ‘geographical location’ for their illegal currency business.
They use three international airports as a “transit point” said a high official of the specialized wing of the Police, adding that the smugglers arrive in Dhaka from countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, Maldives and Myanmar by flight.
There is report that the Civil Aviation Authority, the Bangladesh (CAAB) employees and the Biman officials are involved with illegal foreign currency business.
According to the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID), a record amount of Tk 370 million of foreign currency
had been recovered. It includes US dollar 72,310, Euro 41,190, Saudi Arabian Riyal 2.3 million Indian Rupee 165 million, Pakistani Rupee 310, Malaysian Ringgit 9,965, Kuwaiti Dinar 1,750, Singapore Dollar 1.25 million, Qatar Riyal 28,250, United Arab Emirates Dirham (UAE) 1.02 million, Browne Ringed 23,200, Oman Riyal 1,040 and Indonesia Ringed 1.7 million in last one year.
Seizure of smuggled foreign currency jumped by 88 per cent in last one year i.e. Tk 196 million of foreign currencies. CIID says, it includes US dollar 50,186, Saudi Arabian Riyal 5.3 million, Indian Rupee 56 million, Kuwaiti Dinar 300 and Malaysian Ringgit 9,965 were seized from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) Shah Amanat International Airport at Chittagong (SAIA) and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet in the last 2013.
Source said, almost every day the law enforcement agencies recover smuggled foreign currencies from the country’s international airports.
An analyst on the issue suspects that a number of local and international foreign currency smugglers, brokers and human traffickers are active at the country’s airports.
Experts and law enforcers suspect a section of smugglers, who use Bangladesh as transit point to send smuggled foreign currency in the neighbouring and other countries, taking advantage of the landlocked geographical location.
According to law enforcers, in last four years, they have arrested at least 3,540 people allegedly involved with gold and currency smuggling cases at the country’s international airports.
The smuggled foreign currency have been using for illegal purposes, Moinul Khan, Director General of CIID said.
He said recently the members of CIID detained two Pakistani nationals and recovered foreign currencies worth of Tk seven million from HSIA at city.
Dr Zia Rahman, Chairman of the Department of Criminology of Dhaka University said, monetary crime, gold and foreign currency smuggling has grown tremendous.
The country’s three airports are being used as safer routes for foreign currency smuggling, officials said. The smugglers exploit the country’s ‘geographical location’ for their illegal currency business.
They use three international airports as a “transit point” said a high official of the specialized wing of the Police, adding that the smugglers arrive in Dhaka from countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, China, Maldives and Myanmar by flight.
There is report that the Civil Aviation Authority, the Bangladesh (CAAB) employees and the Biman officials are involved with illegal foreign currency business.
According to the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID), a record amount of Tk 370 million of foreign currency
had been recovered. It includes US dollar 72,310, Euro 41,190, Saudi Arabian Riyal 2.3 million Indian Rupee 165 million, Pakistani Rupee 310, Malaysian Ringgit 9,965, Kuwaiti Dinar 1,750, Singapore Dollar 1.25 million, Qatar Riyal 28,250, United Arab Emirates Dirham (UAE) 1.02 million, Browne Ringed 23,200, Oman Riyal 1,040 and Indonesia Ringed 1.7 million in last one year.
Seizure of smuggled foreign currency jumped by 88 per cent in last one year i.e. Tk 196 million of foreign currencies. CIID says, it includes US dollar 50,186, Saudi Arabian Riyal 5.3 million, Indian Rupee 56 million, Kuwaiti Dinar 300 and Malaysian Ringgit 9,965 were seized from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) Shah Amanat International Airport at Chittagong (SAIA) and Osmani International Airport in Sylhet in the last 2013.
Source said, almost every day the law enforcement agencies recover smuggled foreign currencies from the country’s international airports.
An analyst on the issue suspects that a number of local and international foreign currency smugglers, brokers and human traffickers are active at the country’s airports.
Experts and law enforcers suspect a section of smugglers, who use Bangladesh as transit point to send smuggled foreign currency in the neighbouring and other countries, taking advantage of the landlocked geographical location.
According to law enforcers, in last four years, they have arrested at least 3,540 people allegedly involved with gold and currency smuggling cases at the country’s international airports.
The smuggled foreign currency have been using for illegal purposes, Moinul Khan, Director General of CIID said.
He said recently the members of CIID detained two Pakistani nationals and recovered foreign currencies worth of Tk seven million from HSIA at city.
Dr Zia Rahman, Chairman of the Department of Criminology of Dhaka University said, monetary crime, gold and foreign currency smuggling has grown tremendous.
