Cigarettes worth Tk 10cr seized at Ctg port

Cigarettes estimated to be worth Tk 10 crore were seized on a tip off at Chittagong Port yesterday for being falsely declared as printing machinery by two importing firms existing by name only.

Import tax for machinery is 1 percent while for cigarettes 650 percent, said customs officials.

Documents submitted to customs put the address of M/S N Islam Enterprise to be Rahman Mansion, 1st floor, 161 Motihjeel, Dhaka and of Anwar and Co to be Road 9, Jatrabari, Dhaka.

The officials found no such establishments there.

The 653 cartons containing more than 66 lakh cigarettes were imported from Singapore and arrived on May 3.

Rules say the cigarettes have to be either sold to Bangladesh Tourism Corporation or destroyed.

AKM Nuruzzaman, commissioner of Chittagong Custom House, said legal steps would be taken against the banks, shipping agents and related agencies.

Officials seized cigarettes worth Tk 6.5 crore on April 28 brought in using the same ploy by another non-existent firm, Gram Bangla Food Corporation, using the fake address of 24/a, Noabali Tower, Puran Paltan, Dhaka.