Tk 134cr illegally imported goods seized in Ctg

Huge quantity of illegally imported goods worth Tk 134 crore was found in the 12 containers seized by the customs intelligence at Chittagong Port.

The seizure includes 16,170 bottles of foreign liquor, 4,074 HD, LED and curved televisions sets, 281 photocopiers and 3.84 crore pieces of cigarettes, said a senior official of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate yesterday.

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One Khorshed Alam using the names of two firms -- Henan Anhui Agro LC of Khilkhet, Dhaka and Agro BD & JP of Abdullahpur, Keraniganj -- imported the consignments exported by Jam Raj Industries, China.

The directorate suspects not only the importer, many persons were behind the smuggling and has already started investigation to identify them.

Sources in Chittagong Customs House said the clearing and forwarding agent Rabeya & Sons had completed the value assessment of the first consignment as soon as the vessel reached the outer anchorage on February 27.

Sensing surveillance and enquiry by the customs intelligence, the importer tried to send the cargo back to Singapore from where the vessel came, said Director General Moinul Khan.

The exporter has meanwhile sent a request letter to the commissioner of Chittagong Customs House saying the cargoes were mistakenly sent to Bangladesh.

Chittagong Customs Commissioner AFM Abdullah said they had rejected the appeal.

After the rejection both the importer and proprietor Jalal Uddin of the C&F firm went into hiding.

The commissioner yesterday said he had already ordered to cancel the licence of the C&F firm and its entire staff.

DG Moinul said they had initiated an investigation into previous records of import by the same importer and the C&F agent.

He blamed the respective bank where the letter of credits (L/Cs) were opened with an importing firm having no office or factory.

Mehedi Hasan, a senior official of the bank's Nayapaltan branch, said Agro BD & JP opened the account with them in 2015. Bank officials visited the address and found a tin-shed structure before opening the account, he claimed.