Allegations of negligence and faulty investigation in gold smuggling cases have surfaced against police as nearly all the accused in cases filed last year have got bail from court.
For this, masterminds of gold smuggling in the country are also remaining out of reach.
A gold smuggling case is filed under the Special Powers Act and according to its section 25 (b) 1 (b), it is a non-bailable case.
A lawyer expert in criminal matters, seeking anonymity, tells the Dhaka Tribune: “Any person facing a case under this act is not generally allowed bail. The lower court has never granted bail to any accused in such cases.
“But the accused gets bail from the High Court because of police’s failure to investigate such cases properly or to present proper evidence against them.”
Law enforcers arrested 132 people on charges of their involvement in smuggling gold last year. However, only 75 gold smuggling cases were filed in 115 such incidents.
Until April this year, 34 people were arrested in 23 gold smuggling cases.
Airport police station’s General Recording Officer at Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court Aminur Rahman tells the Dhaka Tribune: “Almost every one of those who were accused of gold smuggling last year got bail. In most cases, they got bail from the High Court within one and a half months after failing to get bail from the lower court.”
On July 29, Kaiyum Mia, a resident of Mohammadpur area of Dhaka city, was arrested with 52 gold bars, but he got bail within one month.
Two people named Mizanur Rahman and Nazrul Islam were arrested with 3kg gold each that month and another named Delwar with 6kg gold. It did not take even a month for them to come out of jail.
A person named Masud Rana was arrested on September 24 on charge of carrying 13kg gold at Shahjalal International Airport and got bail within 20 days.
A customs official, requesting anonymity, tells the Dhaka Tribune: “Such bails result from police’s negligence and faulty investigation in smuggling cases.
Customs Intelligence and Investigation Department Director General Moinul Khan says: “Police are responsible for tracing out smuggling gangs after a case is lodged. The customs department does not have anything to do about it after handing over the accused with gold to the police.”
Airport police station Officer-in-Charge Shah Alam tells the Dhaka Tribune: “We investigate smuggling cases filed with us. In most cases, we have found that gold carriers are professionals and sometimes they do not even know whether they are carrying gold in their bags.
“When returning home, many expatriates give them bags for delivering those to their homes. They do not care to check it and end up being caught as smugglers here.”
He says: “So, we fail to get proper evidence. Besides, we cannot arrest or search any suspect in the airport without permission from the customs and civil aviation departments, which also gets in the way of our investigation.
The customs department has recently written to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the National Board of Revenue and the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, seeking permission to trace and trap smugglers’ cell phone calls.
It has also asked for a special Ansar team and a dog squad like other countries in the world to trace smugglers at the airports.
Director General of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Department Moinul Khan says: “We have requested some requirements. If they are fulfilled, we can gear up and thoroughly investigate the smuggling cases.”
