A Chittagong court has ordered the investigation officer of the country’s biggest cocaine haul case to collect the samples from all 107 drums of the container in which existence of liquid cocaine was found and conduct a fresh laboratory test.
The court also ordered Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) to preserve the seized container in proper way until the court would give further order, said court sources.
It also ordered CPA, CPA’s Security Wing, Chittagong Customs House and Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation to help the investigation officer so that the IO would not face any difficulty during his investigation, sources also said.
The court of Metropolitan Magistrate Farid Alam passed the orders on Sunrday afternoon according to the plea of the IO Chittagong Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch Assistant Commissioner (North Zone) Md Kamruzzaman, said CMP’s Additional Deputy Commissioner (Prosecution) Kazi Muttaki Ibn Minan.
“Grating the pleas of IO, the court ordered to make a new seizure list and it ordered the IO to match his new seizure list with the previous one which was done by CIID,” he said.
“With the presence of the representatives of the concerned authorities, the court ordered the authorities to provide necessary assistances to the IO to ensure proper investigation of the case,” he also said.
The CPA and its security management were ordered to ensure proper maintenance and security of the seized items, he added.
Earlier, the IO pleaded the issues before the court on June 30 while the court gave the orders after Sunday’s hearing, the ADC added.
On this June 6, the CIID, on police information, sealed the container in Chittagong Port which was suspected to bring 2,140 kilogrammes of liquid cocaine.
The container was boarded on ship from Uruguay after being imported from Bolivia and arrived at Chittagong Port on May 13 via Singapore Port.
In the primary physical examination of the sealed container on June 8, the existence of cocaine was not found but cocaine’s presence was discovered on June 27 at a drum inscribed with number 96 out of a total 107 in the container by further laboratory test.
On June 28, police lodged a drug case with Bandar police station in this regard while the CMP’s DB was investigating the case.
The DB and CIID nabbed the alleged importer Khan Jahan Ali Limited’s official Golam Mostafa Sohel, COSCO Shipping Agency’s Manager AKM Azad, Mondol Group’s Commercial Executive Atiqur Rahman and a real estate company official Mostafa Kamal in this connection. All the arrestees were in remand.
However, the Khan Jahan Ali Limited’s Chairman Nur Mohammad, who is also accused of the case, is on the run.
The CMP’s 10-member probe body and the CIID’s four-member probe body are investigating the much-talked cocaine seizure besides the IO.
The DB found one expatriate Bakul Mia in London, England sent the liquid cocaine while another expatriate Raju in India financed for the consignment.
The DB also found Sohel brought the consignment using the company’s pad and address.
CIID investigators found the consignment was on its way to Europe or North America through Bangladesh; otherwise, it was supposed to be re-exported to India’s Kolkata, from where the smugglers had plans to send it back to Uruguay again.
Meanwhile, a team of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), by the request of CIID, will come to Bangladesh soon to determine the actual weight of the cocaine.
The DB decided to seek help from International Criminal Police Organisation and New Scotland Yard to nab the two expatriates who were involved with the cocaine smuggling.
