Media reports said that Customs and Revenue detectives from Bangladesh and India are set to sit for the first time to strengthen cooperation to fight smuggling, money laundering and tax evasions through cross-border movement of goods and people. The two-day meeting begins today in Dhaka, said Director General of the Customs Intelligence & Investigation Directorate (CIID), at a press briefing at the CIID headquarters recently. DG CIID will lead the Bangladesh side while DG of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence of India, will head the visiting team during the talks.
What’s most significant is that, the meeting is taking place at a time when customs intelligence men are frequently seizing smuggled gold and other items at airports and other areas. There is a widespread speculation that Bangladesh is used as a route to smuggle the bullion to India, one of the biggest consumers of the precious yellow metal in the globe. It’s highly appreciating that Customs Intelligence officials of two neighbouring countries will sit together to find out a way to stop such illegal activities including fake currency and money laundering. Hopefully, their fight to prevent cross-border financial crimes along with duty evasion will be easier following mutual cooperation.
According to the official sources, India is the second largest trading partner of Bangladesh in terms of imports; which is next to China. Bangladesh usually buys capital machinery, chemicals, truck chassis, motor parts, petroleum products, cosmetics, and clothing items from India. But smuggling of different items — from household goods to kitchen market items – is very common between the two countries. We know there are also some highly active rackets to smuggle different rare species of wildlife and intoxicating drugs. In this regard, the officials are also expected to discuss establishing hotlines, sharing confidential info, increasing surveillance on passengers’ movement, and strengthening the monitoring of trade consignments to check duty evasion.
We do hope, the meeting of intelligence officials of financial units would be fruitful, and it would be able to draw an outline to stop dangerously expanding smuggling activities which are eating up a large amount of revenue earnings of both countries.
