UNLIKE the usual occurrence before the Eid festival, this time huge Indian currencies were seized by Customs Intelligence at Chittagong Port on Sunday clearly indicating expansion of smugglers’ route from land border to sea-lane. The currency notes worth around Tk 40 crore have been brought in by smuggler racket and it appears that they have their patrons at Port masking the Customs officials. Media report said, a good portion of the currencies are counterfeit notes and is suspected for use in Eid shopping when circulation of money increases manifold. Indian business circles here could use the counterfeit money to pay Bangladeshi clients and cheat them. This may be one point. Similarly local businessmen who pay for Indian smuggled goods in cash could also use it. There is no clear idea at public level but what is clear is that currencies were brought in before the Eid festival to play foul with cash transactions during the Eid festival.
As per reports by Customs officials the currencies were packed in 165 packages in the container which was sealed and had sailed from UAE’s Jebel Ali Port on September 12 and arrived at Chittagong four days later addressed to a local C&F agent. It is alleged that a number of employees of Chittagong Port are involved in smuggling of the currencies, including Indian rupees. Law enforcing agencies detained six people in connection of smuggling of Indian currencies. They also apprehend that the currency could have been sent for some other destinations using Bangladesh as a transit route.
Indian revenue intelligence has blamed Pakistani intelligence for producing fake Indian currency notes in the Middle East, which are shipped then to South Asia for entry into India. In December last year India made the point saying it had received much cooperation from Bangladesh and Nepal in busting these Pakistan-inspired fake currency rackets that Delhi sees as part of Islamabad’s ‘covert economic warfare’ to undermine India’s national economy. Bangladesh can’t be a safe haven for smugglers to transit real or fake currency aiming at destabilizing our economy or that of our friendly country’s economy. Needless to say Bangladesh Customs officials have defeated such an attempt to cheat the businessmen on both sides of the border, but such vigilance must be high to defeat more such moves any time again.
As per reports by Customs officials the currencies were packed in 165 packages in the container which was sealed and had sailed from UAE’s Jebel Ali Port on September 12 and arrived at Chittagong four days later addressed to a local C&F agent. It is alleged that a number of employees of Chittagong Port are involved in smuggling of the currencies, including Indian rupees. Law enforcing agencies detained six people in connection of smuggling of Indian currencies. They also apprehend that the currency could have been sent for some other destinations using Bangladesh as a transit route.
Indian revenue intelligence has blamed Pakistani intelligence for producing fake Indian currency notes in the Middle East, which are shipped then to South Asia for entry into India. In December last year India made the point saying it had received much cooperation from Bangladesh and Nepal in busting these Pakistan-inspired fake currency rackets that Delhi sees as part of Islamabad’s ‘covert economic warfare’ to undermine India’s national economy. Bangladesh can’t be a safe haven for smugglers to transit real or fake currency aiming at destabilizing our economy or that of our friendly country’s economy. Needless to say Bangladesh Customs officials have defeated such an attempt to cheat the businessmen on both sides of the border, but such vigilance must be high to defeat more such moves any time again.
