8.25 Tonnes of Tobacco Smuggled in Under the Guise of Scrap Paper

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate has detected a consignment imported through Chittagong Port using the name and details of another company. A physical inspection found around 8.25 tonnes of tobacco or tobacco-like materials, suspicious coloured powders and “printed paper catalogues.” The National Board of Revenue (NBR) disclosed the information in a press release.
Against the declaration of scrap paper, around 9.26 tonnes of such paper were found. The consignment was physically inspected on September 27. A total of 17,513.4 kg of goods in 2,040 packages were found under two house bills of lading.
According to the NBR, the consignment arrived from Kolkata aboard the MV Uddipan Express. The vessel left Kolkata on September 20 and arrived at Chittagong Port on September 22. The goods were declared under two house bills of lading against the same master bill of lading.
Under the first house bill of lading, the goods were declared as “pan masala and zarda,” with a total weight of 8,974 kg in 473 packages. During the physical inspection, 8,250.4 kg of tobacco or tobacco-like materials were found in 470 packages. Of these, 421 packages contained 7,325.4 kg of dark brown material, 31 packages contained 527 kg of brown material, 13 packages contained 273 kg of grey material and five packages contained 125 kg of white material.
The NBR said the inspection also found powdery substances of different colours that appeared similar to narcotics. However, it has not yet been confirmed whether they contain narcotics or any other prohibited or controlled substances. Their exact identity will be determined after chemical and laboratory tests.
Under the second house bill of lading, the goods were declared as “printed paper catalogues,” with a total weight of 9,859.60 kg in 1,570 packages. However, the physical inspection found 9,263 kg, or around 9.26 tonnes, of suspicious scrap paper.
This revealed significant discrepancies between the declared goods and the nature and classification of the goods actually found. The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate is investigating the matter.
According to the NBR, the name of Athoi Enterprise was used as the importer in the documents. However, the company’s proprietor informed the authorities in writing that he and his company were completely unaware of the import and had no direct or indirect involvement with the consignment.
The proprietor suspects that an unscrupulous group used his company’s name and import-related information to bring in the consignment. He has requested the authorities to identify those actually involved and take legal action against them.
The NBR said the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate is investigating the actual importer, the nature of the goods and the method of import, taking into account the goods found during the physical inspection, the import declaration and the statement of the importing company.