The customs officials at Dhaka International Airport can cause a lot of trouble to the travellers. I can't help share the problem that I had to encounter while coming back to my homeland after a long time. The plane landed at the wee hours of the morning & after clearing immigration, at the custom's area I expressed my intention to declare my cash dollar amount. I was then pointed towards a clerk behind a casual desk. He handed over two forms to fill up and asked me questions that made me feel that I had done something wrong in bringing the foreign currency into the country, as if I was connected to some sort of illegal transaction. Following that I was ushered to a senior customs official's room, where two of them started to count the dollars which were in one hundred dollar bills. Already exhausted from the long flight & not being up to speed with their dishonest dealings, I was told to my surprise that my declared amount was wrong. Refusing to accept their alleged acquisition, they recounted them again & this time they informed me that the declared amount was correct. Then after a few other official procedures I was freed. But after arriving home when I counted & recounted the money, to my utter surprise, there was a one hundred dollar bill missing from the bundle! I'd like to pass the lesson learned from the episode to other unwary travellers so that no one is victimised again. Firstly, do not allow anyone to touch or count your money. Always count the money yourself no matter how tired you are from the journey. Actually, there should be a government directive on this matter to safeguard honest people.
I just cannot fathom that myself being a highly professional person, doing a honest job abroad could be cheated by corrupt people in my own country. And these are the people who have been entrusted to enforce the laws of the country.
I suggest that government & regulatory bodies investigate into such criminal behaviour of dishonest officials. If the government wants more foreign currency to come to the country in a lawful way, it must change the way it conducts its business.
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