NBR suspects seizure of illegal imports led to attack on officers

Victim Asaduzzaman says he was threatened over the phone for seizing prohibited items

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) believes a group angered by recent measures to prevent the release of falsely declared goods may have been behind the attack on two customs officers in Chattogram.

In a statement issued on Friday, the NBR said it appeared that “officers have come under attack” as a consequence of steps taken to curb revenue evasion.

The incident occurred shortly after 10am on Thursday in Chattogram’s CDA residential area, when three men on a motorbike attacked a car carrying two officers from Chattogram Customs.

The attackers smashed the car windows with machetes and threatened to shoot.

Revenue Officer Asaduzzaman Khan and Assistant Revenue Officer Badrul Arefin Bhuiyan of the AIR wing were on their way to the office in that car.

Asaduzzaman told bdnews24.com, “We believe the attack was directed at us. After several seizures of prohibited imports, a group became aggrieved and even threatened me over the phone. I filed a general diary at Bandar Police Station on Oct 5 regarding the threats.”

Chattogram Customs has recently seized significant quantities of illegal imports, including nearly Tk 100 million worth of prohibited artificial sugar, poppy seeds and foreign cigarettes.

In May, authorities intercepted another consignment of banned cigarettes valued at Tk 300 million.

Officials alleged that an aggrieved group issued repeated threats to customs personnel over these seizures.

According to the NBR statement, a fraud ring involved in releasing one product under the guise of another from various Chattogram port sheds threatened Asaduzzaman via WhatsApp on Oct 5 after a shipment of cosmetic products brought in through false declarations was detained. He lodged a general diary the following day.

Deputy Commissioner of Chattogram Customs, Tarek Mahmud, said he too has received threatening calls on multiple occasions.

Staff at the AIR wing, who are directly involved in these seizures, have also been threatened, he added.

A case over the attack was filed on Thursday night.