Customs authorities have seized a covered van loaded with unregistered medical equipment, sunglasses, and various types of medicines from Shed No 35 of Benapole Land Port in Jessore.
The van, bearing registration number Jessore T-11-4921, was intercepted at 11pm on Thursday while it was leaving the port with goods.
The covered van was stopped at a joint Customs-BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) checkpoint in front of Benapole Customs House.
Assistant Commissioner of Benapole Customs House Abu Saleh Abdon Noor confirmed the seizure.
He said that based on confidential information, it was discovered that the shipment, which had completed all customs and port procedures, contained undeclared medical equipment, high-quality medicines, and sunglasses.
The shipment was intercepted at the Bashkol checkpoint before it could leave the port, preventing a significant amount of government revenue loss.
Examination of the seized shipment is ongoing, and further details will be disclosed after verification.
According to sources at Benapole Customs, the 12-ton, 235-package shipment entered the port last week from India.
A customs clearing and forwarding (C&F) agent company named "Messrs Altaf and Sons" had submitted the necessary documents on behalf of the importer to clear the shipment from customs.
Benapole, the largest land port in the country, has been plagued by frequent incidents of customs evasion.
The repeated seizure of shipments has raised questions among traders about the management of the port, the accountability of shed officials, and how undeclared goods manage to infiltrate legitimate shipments.
Local residents allege that for a long time, a syndicate in Benapole has been smuggling banned and undeclared goods from India, often in collusion with corrupt port officials, evading government revenues worth crores of taka.
Efforts to contact Abdullah Al Kafi, the in-charge of Shed No 35, for comments were unsuccessful despite multiple attempts.
Additional Commissioner of Benapole Customs House HM Shariful Hasan said: "Due to the difficulty of monitoring the entry and clearance process of shipments at the port, dishonest traders take advantage to bring in undeclared goods. Additionally, the port’s gate management is weak. I’ve recently joined and am working to curb customs evasion."
He added that implementing a container management system at the port could significantly reduce revenue losses.
