The Chattogram Customs House has seized 42 tonnes of contraband poppy seeds hidden inside two mustard containers imported from Malaysia.
The poppy seeds were brought in by Azmin Trade Centre, a Dhaka-based company that stated the containers contained mustard seeds, said Rezaul Karim, an official from the agency’s audit, investigation and research unit. Personnel from the branch seized the seed shipment on Monday.
“Mustard seeds and poppy seeds look alike. The importer took advantage of that,” he said. The importer kept some mustard seeds at the front of each container to hide poppy seeds inside in a smuggling bid, reports bdnews24.com.
There were attempts to take away the containers, but customs officials scuttled the bids on a tip-off. An on-site inspection on Apr 22 found that 42 of the 54 tonnes of seeds were poppy and 12 tonnes were mustard, Karim said.
“Samples of the seeds were sent to labs in Chattogram and later to the laboratory of the Directorate General of Drug Administration in Dhaka for confirmation. The seeds were seized on Monday once the report confirmed our suspicions.”
There are over 300 species of poppy in existence, but extracts from the opium poppy can be used to make several potent narcotics, including morphine and heroin.
Karim said legal action is being taken over the incident.
In April, C&F agent Hotline Cargo International submitted the bill of entry to release the seeds and paid Tk 142,479 in customs duties for them.
According to customs officials, the estimated price of the poppy seeds is Tk 150 million, but the letter of credit provided by the importer says that Tk 220 million was paid for the mustard seeds.
Officials believe the difference was laundered, which is a punishable offence.
