Imported items are regularly being stolen from the cargo village of thein Dhaka. Importers lament that complaints are not yielding any results. On the other hand, there’s no armed police battalion guard at the cargo village.
Relevant people say that cargo stealing has been a perennial concern and several Biman Bangladesh Airlines workers were arrested after cases were lodged by importers.
Biman has not implemented security related decisions that have been taken in the past. Plans were made to introduce pocket-less clothes for workers, installment of TV cameras, usage of number tags, keeping valuable items in strong rooms, but these did not materialize.
An airport official says, “Many items are stolen due to collusion between clearing and forwarding (C&F) agents and dishonest officers with custom officers sometimes working as abettors.”
Recently, 900 mobile phones have disappeared from the cargo village. Later, the importing company lodged a case.
The estimated price of the 900 pieces of phones is around Tk 20 million. After police arrested one person, 835 phone sets were abandoned at the village on Aug 20 last year.
A Saudi expatriate who brought seven cartons from the desert kingdom found six with no trace of the seventh.
Biman authority assured the expatriate, but could not provide the missing carton or give him compensation.
A police official says: “to prevent robbery at the village, more custom activity is essential.”
If police is involved, then smooth operation of cargo handling will be obstructed.
Meanwhile, General Manger (public relation) of Biman, Shakil Meraj, says that security has been ramped up.
To prevent stealing and corruption, CC TVs are being used and the monitoring has been strengthened, he commented.
Staffs are also being trained on best practices.
“With the support of Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB), overall security of the airport has been made more rigorous,” said airport armed police super, Rashedul Islam Khan.
However, CAAB is unwilling to take the full responsibility of the cargo village and no one from the body wanted to make any comment.
“Biman has been given the responsibility of the cargo village and therefore, they must ensure security of the stored cargo,” said a CAAB official requesting anonymity.
