CHITTAGONG: The Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation (DCII) seized from 12 containers a huge quantity of cigarettes, wine and LED televisions imported under false declaration at Chittagong Port.
The DCII described the seizure as the biggest case of smuggling in recent times.
Officials at the Directorate opened six containers in presence of officials of the Chittagong Custom House (CCH), the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and other concerned agencies at the New Mooring Container Terminal yard of the port on Sunday and six others on Monday.
The contraband goods, brought under false declaration of capital machinery to produce animal food and exported by Jamraj Industries, Singapore were seized by the DCII on Saturday at a yard of the New Mooring Container Terminal of Chittagong Port.
The DCII officials estimated the market value of the seized goods at around Tk1.00 billion. Sources said that the containers reached the port on March 3.
Meanwhile, Jamraj Industries, the exporter, claimed in a letter to the Chittagong Custom House that two consignments of the seized containers were exported ‘mistakenly’ to the importer. The letter reached the CCH authority on Sunday morning.
But the Chittagong Custom House and Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate rejected the claim of the exporter.
Commissioner of Chittagong Custom House AFM Abdullah said, they claimed the consignments were shipped mistakenly after these were seized. Moreover, the exporter did not mention where the 12 containers were actually supposed to be sent.
Rejecting the claim of the exporter, Director General of DCII Dr. Moinul Khan asked why the exporter did not mention in the letter the destination of the two export consignments.
The Directorate detected on Saturday 12 containers in two consignments and completed physical examination on Monday. The two consignments were brought by two separate business firms – Henan Anhui Agro Ltd at Khilkhet in Dhaka and Agro BD & JP of Keraniganj, both owned by one Khorshed Alam, officials said.
In its documents, the importer declared to have imported capital machinery to produce animal feed. But no office or factory was found at the respective addresses of the companies.
Both Khorshed Alam, the importer, and Jalaluddin, owner of the clearing and forwarding agent Rabeya and Sons of DT Road, Chittagong city, remained absconding since the investigation started, said Dr Moinul Khan.
Claiming it as the biggest case of smuggling in recent times, Dr Khan said that the estimated value of the items in the 12 containers could be around Tk 1.00 billion. The consignment was carried to the port by Liberian ship MV Vasi Sun.
Having prior information of smuggling illegal goods, the DCII officials were tracking the consignments and kept those under surveillance. A team from the Directorate’s head office in Dhaka also arrived in Chittagong to oversee the inventory filing.
