Customs officials in Chittagong on Saturday, September 1st, found 410 sacks of sand inside a container although it was brought in by a local firm under a declaration of importing A4 size papers worth $15,000 or Tk 12.81 lakh.
The importer, Progress Impex Ltd, said that it had been cheated by a Chinese company that sent the container.
The customs house is now examining the sands to find out whether valuable minerals ores were imported under false declaration, said Md Nooruddin Milon, deputy commissioner of the customs house.
The customs house has also lodged a money laundering case against the Banani-based Bangladeshi company.
The container reached the Chittagong port on August 18 and Progress Impex received the shipment by paying Tk 7.88 lakh as import duty. The container was sent against a letter of credit worth $15,440 opened with a branch of Brac Bank in Dhaka.
On August 28, customs officials barred the importer to unload the container when sand was found inside it. On September 1, the container was reopened in presence of customs commissioners.
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