Chattogram Port
42 tonnes of poppy seeds seized at Chattogram port
Customs authorities on Tuesday claimed to have seized 42 tonnes of poppy seeds worth Tk 15 crore at Chattogram port.
Officials said that the poppy seeds were imported from Malaysia by a trader based in Old Dhaka -- Ajmin Trade Center -- in the garb of mustard seeds. The seizure was made on a tip-off.
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On April 18, Ajmin Trade Center's clearing agent Hotline Cargo International submitted a bill of entry to the Chattogram Customs department to unload the consignment of two containers and paid Tk 1,42,497 as duty for mustard seed imports.
On a tip-off, the Audit, Investigation and Research (AIR) team of Customs House Chattogram suspended the release process and conducted a physical examination of the consignment.
Upon the physical examination, 12 tonnes of mustard seeds and 42 tonnes of poppy seeds were found in place of the 54 tonnes of mustard seeds declared by the importer.
Mustard seeds were found in sacks kept near the door of the container, while sacks containing poppy seeds were kept in the rear side.
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Rezaul Karim, Assistant Commissioner, AIR Branch, Chattogram Custom House, said samples of the seized poppy seeds were subsequently sent to the Narcotics Control Department in Dhaka for chemical testing.
The government agency has certified that those are indeed poppy seeds, the official added.
According to international market price, the value of the seized 42 tonnes of poppy seeds is around Tk 15 crore.
However, the importer has paid Tk 22 lakh through the letter of credit for the import of mustard seeds, and thus may have violated the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
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The Bangladesh government has banned the import of poppy seeds as they are used to make various drugs, including opium.
Chattogram Customs House is preparing to file a case accusing the importer. The Anti-Money Laundering Unit of the department is also looking into possible violations of the the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
2 die as oil tanker catches fire at Chattogram port
At least two persons were charred to death and more than three others sustained burn injuries in a fire that broke out at an oil tanker on the Karnafuli river at Chattogram port on Thursday, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as the oil tanker's crew members -- Nizam Uddin, 40 and Ruhul Amin, 45. The three injured crew members -- Abu Sufian, Sahabuddin and Monir -- have been admitted to Chittagong Medical College and Hospital.
According to local sources, the fire broke out at the engine room of inland oil tanker MT Iravati at the Super Petro Chemical Jetty of the port around 7am.
A number of firefighting units from the Bangladesh Fire Service and the Navy were soon pressed into service and it took them a good four hours to contain the blaze, officials said,
Newton Das, deputy assistant director of Chattogram Fire Service and Civil Defence told UNB that an electrical short-circuit at the engine room of the vessel might have triggered the devastating fire.
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Shilbot Barua, an assistant sub-inspector of police posted at Chittagong Medical College and Hospital, said that the condition of two of the injured -- Monir and Shahabuddin -- is critical.
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A probe has been ordered into the fire accident, officials said.
‘Berthing delay’ at Chattogram Port ‘irks’ steelmakers
Bangladesh’s steel manufacturers have long been experiencing serious problems as the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) is reportedly taking more time than usual in allowing them to unload their imported raw materials.
President of Bangladesh Steel Manufacturers Association (BSMA) Monwar Hossain in a letter to the CPA chairman on March 3 raised the issue expressing their grave concerns over it and demanded separate jetties for unloading their imported scraps, according to official sources.
He mentioned that the unusual delay in berthing the raw material-carrying ships made the situation horrible for their business.
“The mills are not getting adequate supply of raw materials to continue their production while the importers have to pay huge demurrage to shipping authorities for the excessive berthing delay,” he said in the letter.
“As a result, the price of raw materials for the steel-manufacturing industries is rising,” he added.
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According to the BSMA, 58 vessels arrived at Chattogram port with about 1.328 million metric tons of scraps from September 2020 to February 2021 but each vessel had to face excessive delay in unloading the goods -- even up to 26 days.
Providing the statistics, the BSMA said the number of scrap-carrying ships is substantially rising, but the importers have to count huge costs due to the lack of adequate GI-berthing facilities at the port.
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