Garment exporters, transport owners, garment buying house and freight forwarding agencies today urged the law enforcement agencies to tighten vigilance on the Dhaka-Chattogram highways to prevent theft of export-oriented goods from the covered vans and trucks.

Faruque Hassan, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA); Kabir Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BAFFA); Mokbul Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Covered-Van Truck Prime Mover Goods Transport Owners Association; Syed Md Bakhtiar, executive president of Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association, and General Secretary Rustom Ali Khan were present at the meeting.

Also, the representatives of Bankers Association, Bangladesh among others, were present at the meeting which was organised by BGMEA at its office in Dhaka.

The businesses also requested the police to speed up installation of close circuit televisions (CCTVs) on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway to tighten security on the roads, prevent theft and find out thieves, according to a statement from the BGMEA.

The BGMEA leaders called on the Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association to ensure that global positioning system (GPS) tracker is installed in all goods-laden cargo vans as a measure to prevent theft during RMG goods transportation.

Jehadul Kabir, deputy inspector general for operation and crime at Industrial Police; Md Shah Jalal, additional deputy inspector general of Police; Md Mostafizur Rahman, SP of Highway Police, and other senior officials of law enforcement agencies, including the Rapid Action Battalion, Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Gazipur Metropolitan Police, were present at the meeting.