With Wednesday’s haul of gold worth Tk7 crore at a river jetty in Chittagong, police believe that smugglers are increasingly favouring water routes for smuggling gold into the country instead of the previously popular but now heavily monitored air routes.
Police seized 120 gold bars and 16 pieces of gold jewellery from Anu Majhir Ghat in the port city’s Sadarghat area on Wednesday. Two people were arrested.
Sadarghat police station Officer-in-Charge Abul Kalam Azad told the Dhaka Tribune that a police team led by Sub-Inspector Anwar Hossain conducted the drive at the electronics warehouse AC Mela around 11:30pm.
“SI Anwar and his team found a parked red private car outside the warehouse being loaded with four big cartons. The SI challenged the warehouse manager Titu, 35, and his assistant Emran, 27, saying the cartons contained smuggled items,” the OC said.
Titu then tried but failed to bribe SI Anwar into letting the car and its contents pass, he said.
“Titu then contacted Jasim Uddin, one of the tenants of the warehouse and the importer of the electronics goods. Jasim offered Anwar a Tk1cr bribe,” the OC added.
“Anwar seized the consignment and informed senior officials,” the OC said, adding that police found 120 gold bars weighing 14.2kg and jewellery weighing 5.8kg hidden inside the cartons.
Chittagong Metropolitan Police Commissioner Abdul Jalil Mandal visited the crime scene and announced a reward for SI Anwar’s integrity in discharging his duty.
A case under the Special Powers Act was lodged with Sadarghat police station against Jasim Uddin, his partner and fellow tenant of the warehouse, Bhobitosh Bishwas, and numerous unidentified people, the OC said.
CMP Assistant Commissioner of Kotwali Circle Shah Mohammad Abdur Rouf told the Dhaka Tribune that the gold bars and jewellery had been brought via the waterways from Dubai to evade import duties.
The following day, police conducted a day-long raid at the warehouse but failed to find any other illegal items, the AC said.
“We sealed off the warehouse at night and started further raids yesterday,” he said.
Strong surveillance of Chittagong’s Shah Amanat International Airport has compelled gold smugglers to prefer surface routes, police sources said.
“But since land routes are closely watched, waterways are favoured,” he said.
“Smugglers have become dependent on water routes because they are less closely monitored,” said the AC of Kotwali Circle, adding that the smuggled gold came into the country via Chittagong port.
