The stealing of readymade garments from vehicles while transporting goods from the factory to the port has become a regular phenomenon on the highways, tarnishing the country’s image to overseas buyers and incurring huge losses to the exporters.
The malpractice has reached such an extent that the apparel exporters have to continuously worry whether there would be a shortage of products at the eleventh hour of shipment, say industry insiders.
According to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway witnesses an average of 20-25 theft incidents every month during the transportation of various export products.
Sources from Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said that the country’s apparel exporters faced 22 incidents of theft on the highways last year.
In one instance, Sparrow Group, an apparel exporter, handed over 24,000 pieces of clothes to EPL Logistics for transporting them from the factory to Chattogram Port. The logistic support provider used several cargo trucks to carry the goods, made for a US buyer, but one of them with 4,000 pieces of clothes did not reach the port.
A day later, the cargo truck was found abandoned in Chattogram's Sitakunda area. EPL Logistics refused to take responsibility for the loss, although the vehicle and the driver were employed by them.
Sparrow Group Managing Director Shovon Islam recently told The Business Post that he lost goods worth $56,000 and was forced to deliver the consignment with products less than what his buyer ordered. Those 4,000 pieces had to be made again and sent through costly air cargo.
“I lost nearly $100,000 due to this incident. This theft on the highways is not only tarnishing the country’s image, but businesses are also incurring losses,” he said.
Not only Shovon, but many of the country’s apparel exporters also have similar experiences. They are suddenly dealt with a severe blow, after trying heart and soul to meet the deadline, when they face a shortage of products just before the shipment due to the thefts on highways.
The BGMEA and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) have held several meetings with the law-enforcing agencies to resolve the issue, but in vain as the situation is yet to improve.
“After stealing the clothes from the highway, the gang of thieves sell the goods to some so-called buying houses who later export it as stocklot garments. Many local exporters are also involved in this illegal trading,” BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said while talking to The Business Post.
“When buyers find their goods at street shops, they naturally become angry and threaten us to cancel orders. At times, the law enforcers arrest the thieves, but unfortunately, they get bail within a few days and go back to stealing in full swing,” he said in frustration.
Talking about such an incident, he said, “A consignment of clothes was transported to Chattogram Port by a covered van from a factory in Gazipur. The buyer-designated shipping company received the consignment of 898 cartons of sweaters at the port and shipped the products worth $1,25,000 to Brazil. The buyer paid the full amount immediately after the vessel carrying the consignment left the port.”
“After a few days, the garment owner received video footage from the Brazilian buyer, showing that some cartons are completely and many partially empty. Later, the apparel exporter had to pay a fine equal to the amount of the stolen garments. And this is just one of the incidents,” said the BGMEA president.
In February, the United States, which is the leading importer, informed Bangladesh that it has initiated a special review against the country for allegedly exporting counterfeit clothing of popular US and French brands.
The US Trade Representative launched the Special 301 Review on IPR (intellectual property rights) Protection and Enforcement after counterfeiting complaints were made by the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) and the Paris-based Union des Fabricants (UNIFAB).
The Commerce Ministry objected to the review in rebuttal, saying it was not rational to kick it off without giving evidence.
Bangladesh will face multiple forms of penalties — including quotas, sanctions and additional duties — if the allegation is proven, said ministry officials and exporters.
RMG manufacturers and exporters have stressed that they have never engaged in such misdeeds. Many of them alleged that the products stolen from the transport vehicles are being exported and these are getting caught as counterfeit products.
A senior RAB official said Md Shahed is one of those involved in highway theft of export goods. He has accumulated illegal wealth worth about Tk 100 crore stealing RMG products from trucks and covered vans on highways for the last two decades. RAB arrested Shahed along with three accomplices on February 3.
“Earlier, Shahed was arrested eight times and he is accused in 17-18 cases. His gang has 40-50 members including drivers, helpers, godown owners and a group of labourers,” the RAB official said.
RAB sources said that three gangs, led by Dulal Hossain, Sirajul Islam and Masum, are involved in the theft of export-oriented RMG goods in Dhaka and its adjacent areas. All three once worked as Shahed's accomplices. Now they have formed separate gangs.
On January 27, RAB-4 arrested seven people for their alleged involvement in the theft of apparel products in Narayanganj’s Bandar area, seizing a covered van with 26,995 pieces of readymade garments worth about Tk 5 crore.
RAB-4 Commander Lt Col Mohammad Abdur Rahman told The Business Post that although the thieves were caught, they managed to secure bail after a few days and resumed their misdeeds.
He said leaders and members of the gangs develop relationships with the drivers and helpers of the vehicles that transport RMG products. On the way to the port, the driver takes the goods-carrying truck or covered van to a secluded place on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway where the gang members take portions of the van apart by removing nuts and bolts without breaking the lock on the backdoor.
“They then steal 30-40 per cent of the products from each carton and refill them with something else to maintain the weight. As a result, the theft cannot be detected most of the time when the goods are unloaded at the port,” he added.
According to BGMEA, RMG goods worth hundreds of crores of taka have been stolen from over 2,000 covered vans travelling the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway in the last 18 years.
Several traders, law enforcement officials and transport vehicle owners observed that instead of taking legal action, the apparel exporters insist on compromise and recovery of goods, paving the way to the continuation of such thefts.
BKMEA Executive President Mohammad Hatem told The Business Post, “If the exporter fails to deliver the goods on time, the foreign buyer cancels the contract and loses interest to buy products further. For this reason, the factory owners prioritise the recovery of goods.”
He said the thieves of RMG goods are granted bail quickly as the case is filed as a general theft. For this reason, it is necessary to enact a special law to prevent the theft of export products.
The police headquarters formed a committee in mid-2021 to formulate policies to prevent the theft of export goods on highways. The committee recommended an amendment to the existing law so that the case over any theft of export goods can be filed under a separate section of the law.
Mosharraf Hossain Miazi, the member secretary of that committee and commanding officer of Armed Police Battalion-1, said that they formulated a draft policy to prevent such highway theft. The draft policy has been sent to the Home Ministry to take further steps in this regard.
