The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate yesterday recovered huge quantities of cigarettes, televisions and contraband liquors imported from China under false declarations.

The items were found after six containers were opened at the New Mooring Container Terminal at Chittagong Port in presence of officials of the directorate and Chittagong Customs House.

The directorate detected 12 containers in two consignments, while physical examination of the rest six containers will be held today.

The two consignments were brought by two separate business firms -- Henan Anhui Agro Lc at Dumni of Khilkhet in Dhaka and Agro BD & JP of Keraniganj. Both the firms are owned by a person named Khorshed Alam, said officials.

The declaration said the imported products were capital machinery to produce animal feed, they added.

But no office or factory was found at the respective addresses of the companies, officials said. 

Both Alam, the importer, and Jalal Uddin, the clearing and forwarding agent, remained absconding since the investigation started, said Moinul Khan, the director general of the directorate.

The importer took delivery of 71 containers imported under the same declaration in the last one year, he added.

Claiming it the biggest case of smuggling in recent times, Khan said the estimated value of the items in the 12 containers could be more than Tk 100 crore.

The first consignment of six containers arrived at the port on March 3 by a Liberian ship MV Vasi Sun.

“Having prior information of smuggling illegal or harmful goods, we were tracking the consignments and kept those under surveillance,” Khan said.

After opening the containers, the officials found a huge number of LED, HD and curved televisions of different brands, cigarettes and liquors.

Meanwhile, Jamraj Industries, the exporter of the containers, said in a letter to Chittagong customs that the containers were mistakenly sent to the Chittagong port, according to Khan.

“We have already asked our shipping agent to put the delivery of the containers on hold,” the exporter said.

Khan said they are not taking the letter into consideration.

“The perpetrators might have sent the letter to protect themselves from legal actions,” he said.

The actual quantities of the seized goods could not be known until filing this report as the inventory was still being prepared.

A team from the directorate's Dhaka headquarters arrived at Chittagong to oversee inventory filing.