Customs seize Moosa bin Shamsher's car

Customs detectives have seized a luxury vehicle from controversial businessperson Moosa bin Shamsher.

The Range Rover was taken away from a house at Dhanmondi following day-long drama, Mainul Khan, head of Customs Intelligence, told bdnews24.com.

The Dhanmondi house belongs to Barrister Akhtar Imam, whose daughter Rashna Imam is married to Moosa's eldest son, lawyer Bobby Hajjaj.

His other son, Zubi Moosa, is also a lawyer currently working at Law Minister Anisul Huq's chamber.

Detectives went in search of the luxury SUV after receiving information that it was at Moosa's Gulshan home.

But by then the vehicle was moved, said Mainul. The 'illegal vehicle' was repainted in an effort to hide it from detectives, he said.

Customs have been in a drive to seize illegal, especially luxury vehicles, since last year.

Moosa, chairman of manpower recruiting company DATCO, was told to surrender the vehicle in a notice handed to him at 8am.

The notice prompted him to hide the car, detectives said.  

Detectives found out that he was using the car after looking at CCTV footage from his Gulshan-2 house.

But, after not finding it in the house on Tuesday, they decided to trace it, said the customs chief.

"His granddaughter was seen leaving for school in that car. It wasn't brought back amid the customs raid at noon. The granddaughter came home in a different car," he said.

The Range Rover was located at Dhanmondi and seized from a house at Road-6 around 3pm.

The car's document said its body is white. But it had been coloured black, detectives said. It was also registered using false import documents.

"The car's papers show that it was registered from Bhola after payment of 130 percent duty on Dec 13, 2011. The number for the bill of entry at Chittagong Customs House is written as 1045911. But we realised it was fake after searching records at Chittagong Customs House," said Mainul.

The vehicle was registered under the name of one Farukuzzaman from Pabna, Bhola BRTA offices told customs.

The car was being personally used by Moosa.

The businessman will be facing charges of money laundering to be filed with Chittagong Customs House as well as for evasion of duty, said the customs chief at a press conference.

The DATCO chairman, related to ruling Awami League politician Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim by marriage, was unavailable for a comment.