Customs officials at Benapole Port have seized nearly six tonnes of illegally imported hilsa fish from a truck arriving from India, uncovering an attempted case of smuggling and duty evasion.
Acting on a tip-off, members of Benapole Port Customs conducted a raid at port’s 31st transshipment yard on Tuesday night and recovered 5,943 kilograms of hilsa packed in 53 cartons. The fish had reportedly been brought into the country illegally to evade customs duties.
According to customs sources, the importer, Jannat Enterprise, attempted to bring in the hilsa through legal channels by making a false declaration.
The exporting company was listed as RJ International.
However, allegations of duty evasion and attempted smuggling have been raised against the C&F agent Link International, owned by controversial businessman Shanto.
Benapole Customs revenue officer Udbhob Chandra Pal told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that officials had received confidential information about a large consignment of hilsa being imported under false declarations.
“Following the information, we conducted a search and recovered 53 cartons of illegally imported hilsa fish,” he said, adding that the seized fish will be auctioned in accordance with customs regulations.
Customs officials said the consignment was declared as “sweet fish,” including species such as boal, fuli and baghair.
However, physical inspection revealed that out of 225 packages, 53 contained Indian hilsa.
The estimated market value of the seized fish is around Tk 30 lakh.
Due to the clear mismatch between the declaration and the actual goods, the entire consignment was immediately seized.
Port-related sources also alleged that duty evasion by a section of corrupt traders and C&F agents has resulted in a revenue shortfall of around Tk 1,013 crore in the first six months of the current fiscal year.
The name of businessman Shanto reportedly appears on a list of identified duty evaders.
Benapole Customs House Commissioner Mohammad Faizur Rahman said there was a significant discrepancy between the declared goods and the actual consignment, which constitutes a clear violation of customs law.
He added that the matter is being investigated with due seriousness.
YR/SH
