RMG goods theft during transportation: BGMEA wants increased police vigilance

Al Amin :
The entrepreneurs of the country’s apparel sector have sought increase in police vigilance to prevent stealing of RMG goods during transportation as highway theft has become a growing concern for the exporters.
Apart from financial losses, stealing incidents put exporters in an embarrassing situation when such cases are detected after products reach buyers, they said.
They further said organised gangs have long been stealing garment items from covered vans on Dhaka- Chattogram Highway and the apparel exporters face significant financial loss and run the risk of losing trust of foreign buyers as such thefts are on the rise.
To discuss the issue, the leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) held a meeting with Bangladesh Truck Covered Van Owners Association (BTCVOA) at the BGMEA complex in the capital on Monday.
The meeting underscored the need for concerted efforts of exporters, transport owners, police administration and other parties concerned to prevent theft on highways.
BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, Vice President Md Shahidullah Azim, BTCVOA President Tofazzal Hossain Majumder, Executive President Syed Md Bakhtiar and General Secretary Rustom Ali Khan, among others, were present at the meeting.
They suggested all garment factories to keep the photos of drivers, helpers and travel documents including licenses of trucks and covered vans as a precautionary measure.
The BGMEA leaders requested ensure GPS tracker in all goods-laden cargo vans as a step to prevent stealing the goods.
“The country’s RMG industry has earned global reputation as the safest and greenest industry in the world, and it’s achievement that we all have to retain,” the BGMEA president said.
“All should work together, especially the enforcement agencies need to intensify vigilance on the highway to stop stealing incidents,” he added.
The leaders of the industry have for years demanded highway vigilance to prevent the theft that compromises the credibility of the country’s biggest export earners.
Seeking remedies, leaders of the apex body of the apparel sector also sat with the home minister and top law enforcers.
The gangs have established such a foolproof system that exporters cannot even know about the theft until their buyers inform them of missing items, sometimes months after the shipment, causing embarrassment.
After a third-party inspection of quality and quantity, exporters contact transport agencies to send garment items for shipment through Chattogram Sea Port. The transport agencies then hire the Lorries.
Once the loading at the factory is complete, the drivers, who are part of the gangs, pass the message to their partners in crime about the shipment, the route and the time, detectives said.
As per the plan, the vehicles stop on the highway and go to secret warehouses in Gazipur, Shiddirganj in Narayanganj, Chandina in Cumilla, Feni, Mirsharai and Sitakunda in Chattogram, a DB official said.
The country’s economy relies heavily on apparel export. The market share of Bangladesh, the second largest RMG exporter after China, in the over $400 billion global garment items is 6.8 percent, according to 2019 World Trade Organisation data.