Gold haul on Bangladesh frontiers has increased over fivefold in a year, leading the watchers to believe that the glitter of the precious metal covers an increased trend in money laundering.
Customs intelligence seized some 623 kilograms (kg) of gold worth Tk 3.04 billion in the fiscal year (FY) 2016-17 against only 121 kgs worth Tk 560 million in the previous fiscal.
Such a sharp rise in gold smuggling is evident in the statistics of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID).
In the last four financial years, the CIID seized 1,622 kgs of contraband gold worth Tk 7.69 billion in incidents some of which created quite a stir.
During the period between fiscal years 2004 and 2013, the team had seized 17.46kg smuggled gold worth Tk 55 million. The volume increased to 1,665 kgs valued at about Tk 7.91 billion in FY 2014 up till August 17.
"Organised crime groups chose the precious metal for smuggling purpose in a bid to convert their illicit cash into a stable, anonymous, transformable and easily exchangeable asset to realise or reinvest the profits of their criminal activities," said CIID Director-General Dr Moinul Khan.
These factors make gold highly attractive to criminal syndicates who are willing to hide, move or invest their illicit proceeds, said the chief of Customs intelligence.
CIID sleuths arrested 179 persons on suspicion of their involvement in gold smuggling.
It has been found that gold smugglers, in recent times, are using innovative techniques to carry the gold by dodging the watch by customs-intelligence teams.
The CIID detectives have spotted smuggled gold inside body, laptop, backside of aircraft toilet and so.
Mainly poor people and women are hired as the potential carriers as they can be easily motivated spending fewer amounts.
The Customs intelligence also suspected that a syndicate of influential quarters is involved in the informal trade in gold, causing difficulties to detectives in checking the trans-border trade.
Customs officials said Bangladesh is used as a transit of smuggled gold for India. The vast neighbouring country has the highest consumption of gold in the world primarily due to meeting their cultural requirements.
They said due to hike in duty rates in India, Bangladesh is used as a gold- smuggling route.
Dr Khan said Bangladesh has also increased taxes on gold, almost to the level in India, to check the illicit trade.
In the last six months, Customs also arrested at Benapole some five to six suspected gold-smugglers bound for India, he said.
"Indian customs also seized smuggled gold from Bangladesh in their part," he said.
Before 2015, tax on per-bhori gold here was Tk 150 while it was Tk 4,000 then in India. But, it has been lately raised to Tk 3,000 by the Bangladesh authorities to check smuggling.
Jewelry owners' association requested a reduction in duty on import of gold, which may fuel smuggling to India, the CIID chief said.
"We are not in favour of reduction in duty as gold may come in legal channel in Bangladesh under reduced-tax benefit but shift to India in illegal channel," he added.
On allegation of involvement of big fishes, Dr Khan said CIID arrested nearly 200 carriers and investigation was going on to find out the culprits.
As there is economic incentive, new smugglers' networks are being formed despite intensified crackdown by the CIID, he said.
Dilip Kumar Roy, a former president of Bangladesh Jewelry Association, said the smuggled gold is not used in Bangladesh for jewelry making.
"We use recycled gold and other imported gold that came through baggage of the passengers," he said.
He said the precious metal is a light thing that is smuggled in exchange for drugs, hundi and other forms of illegal activity.
