14 truckloads of expired fish feed seized in attempted theft from customs’ dumping site

After one and a half months of Chattogram Customs House destroying and dumping expired goods, a gang tried to steal a huge amount of expired fish feed from a dumping station in Chittagong city.

However, customs officials and police seized 14 truckloads of fish feed, in an overnight drive on Monday.

Customs authorities, from 11-14 September, destroyed 382 unusable and decaying containers in Chattogram port and several off-docks, and buried them in the city corporation's dumping station in Halishahar's Anandabazar area.

Santos Soren, deputy commissioner of Chattogram Customs House (auction wing), told The Business Standard (TBS) that the unusable imports were destroyed in front of representatives of various agencies. Fish feed was among the goods in the seized trucks and a case is being filed with Bandar police station.

Responding to a query, deputy commissioner Soren did not say anything about whether there was any fault in the demolition process.

According to Bandar police station, after the demolition operation, there was a security guard till 6 November and a gang attempted to steal the products after that.

Bandar police station in-charge, Md Mahfuzur Rahman, said, "We will take measures if Customs House files a case in this regard. As the gang loaded the products along with soil, we cannot ascertain what kind of goods they attempted to steal."

Shahed Quaderi, an official of KM Corporation, a private organisation engaged in the auction and demolition process, said, "Water was poured at the dumping site after burying the products. For security reasons, we kept a guard there even after the demolition operation was over."

"We no longer have any responsibility for activities once we have officially completed them. KM Corporation has no connection with the thief gang in this incident," he said.

By the rules, importers are given a notice to take delivery of their products within 30 days. If they do not take their imports within the stipulated time, the customs house auctions those goods. If the imported goods perish at the port in the course of completing the due process, the customs authorities destroy the goods.

According to port sources, besides fish feed, onion, ginger, apples, pomegranates, dragon fruit, oranges, coriander, grapes, frozen fish, boneless buffalo meat, wheat bran, fish feed, bulk grain, garlic, sunflower oil, coffee, and other perishable products were also destroyed.