Bangladesh customs intel officials confined for seizing iPhone sets [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

Bangladesh customs intel officials confined for seizing iPhone sets

Local May 20, 2018

Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate officials were confined to the exit of Bashundhara Shopping Complex for about three hours and a half after they seized 100 iPhone sets from different shops at shopping complex.
Over 100 traders and shop-owners of the shopping complex at Panthapath in Dhaka blocked the road, cordoned off the car of customs intelligence officials, including its additional director general Zia Uddin, and punctured the rear wheel of the vehicle.
The demonstrators alleged that the customs intelligence conducted the drive usually just before the Eid and took away only iPhone.
They believed that the officials mainly took away the mobile-phone sets to gift their near and dear ones.
At about noon, the customs intelligence conducted the raid and seized 100 iPhones from the ground and fifth floors of the market.
Sitting in the car, the customs intelligence official requested the demonstrators to call off the blockade and visit his office along with him with valid documents of the iPhones, if any. The protesters demanded return of the seized items.
Zia denied allegation of harassing traders and said that they were discharging their duty. Traffic of one side of Panthapath was suspended for one hour.
Tejgaon police station officer-in-charge Mazharul Islam said they were not informed about the drive beforehand.
The Rapid Action Battalion brought the situation under control at about 3:30pm and the traders held a meeting with the customs intelligence officials.
In the afternoon, both the traders and officials decided that the mobile sets would be handed over to the owners subject to valid documents.
Later in the evening, the customs intelligence in a statement said that they seized 262 illegal mobile phone sets, including 121 iPhone, 125 htc, 15 LG and 1 apple watch in a drive at different shops at Bashundhara Shopping Complex, Mohakhali, Gulshan and Uttara in Dhaka.
The officials said that the seized phone sets entered the country dodging all duties and taxes.
A team comprising customs intelligent, revenue officials, Rapid Action Battalion and Dhaka Metropolitan Police started the raid simultaneously at different spots from 11:00am.
The team also conducted the drive at a house at Mohakhali DOHS and seized machineries and illegal parts for making fake iPhone sets.
Nine people – seven at Mohakhali and two at Uttara – were arrested on charge of making or selling illegal or fake mobile phone sets.
After the drive, customs intelligence director general Shahidul Islam said, ‘We will show zero tolerance of illegal mobile phone sets.
We are committed to bring to book the syndicate of illegal mobile phone sellers and makers.’
The protesters said that those mobile phones were coming through the airports and land ports and the customs officials should have strengthened their vigilance on the ports instead of harassing traders.
‘I sold whole of properties and invested in the business. Now they are taking my goods. It is better to kill me,’ said Jahin Trading Corporation chief executive officer Rafiqul Amin.