Gold Smuggling Cases: Utter negligence at initial stage

• CID analysed 17  cases filed from 2016 to 2020
• 10 relate to gold smuggling using Biman flights
• Investigating officers don't quiz arrestees enough
• Since accused were placed on remand before, courts don't grant further remand
• In almost all cases, carriers who get arrested know only 2 persons
• Since 2017, 233 cases have been filed in Dhaka against 261 people 

Most gold smuggling cases see no headway due to insufficient evidence, as investigating police officers fail to glean vital information from the arrestees during interrogation and subsequent investigation.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has come to this conclusion after analysing 17 cases filed from 2016 to 2020 involving the recovery of 124kg of gold in total.

"The masterminds cannot be traced down due to insufficient information. This weakens the case, and the chance of conviction gets slim," said a top CID official working at its Dhaka metro office.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said vital information is sometimes "intentionally" left out while filing cases to protect smugglers who have connections with some law enforcers.  

Ten of the 17 cases analysed by the specialised police department relate to gold smuggling using Biman flights. Seven other consignments were brought in using other airlines, officials said.

CID's Dhaka Metro Unit is now investigating all the 17 cases.

CID's analysis of case documents shows investigating officers failed to extract any vital information from the arrestees, who were placed on two to three days' remand.

The fact is the investigating officers do not quiz them to get to the bottom of the case and track down the masterminds, a CID investigator said.

"We went through statements given by the accused during the remand period and found no significant information," he said.

Since the accused were placed on remand before, courts do not grant fresh requests for remand, he said. "As a result, we cannot dig deeper into the smuggling racket."

It is possible that these smugglers have their cronies in the court's corridor to watch their back, he added.

In almost all cases, the carriers who get arrested know only two persons -- the one who hands him the consignment and the person receiving the package.

For evidence gathering, they need to be questioned properly, officials said.

The CID recently spoke with 12 officials of different agencies and police officers who filed and investigated the cases for explanations, but they could not give any satisfactory answers.

Imam Hossain, additional deputy inspector general of CID, Dhaka Metro, said they are investigating the cases with due importance.

To investigate gold smuggling cases, police have to obtain vital information from domestic and international airports and the airlines used.

"We often ask for information from foreign airports and airlines, which you cannot get readily. So, we cannot make expected progress," he told The Daily Star.

Since 2017, at least 233 gold smuggling cases have been filed in Dhaka alone against 261 people, CID data show.

A senior lawyer practising in a Dhaka court said convictions in such cases are rare, except for the two cases that recently saw convictions.

In one case, four people including two Biman employees were sentenced to 12 years in jail by a Dhaka court in January this year. The case involved recovery of 9.28kg of gold in Dhaka in 2018.

In another case involving recovery of 13 gold bars in 2020, a woman was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Jashore court in March this year.

Noted criminal lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said low conviction rates mean the prosecution failed to prove the case.

"Government prosecutors have many shortcomings. They lack experience and coordination. Brilliant lawyers are not attracted to the position. The government needs to look into this," he said.