Poppy seeds from Pakistan declared as bird food seized at Bangladesh's Chittagong port: report

Dhaka, Nov 6 (PTI) Bangladesh has seized two containers with almost 25,000 kilograms of poppy seeds, a banned narcotic item, that came from Pakistan under a false declaration of bird food, a Customs statement said Thursday.

The two containers arrived at Chittagong port on October 23 and were taken to the off-dock facility of Chhabar Ahmed Timber Company Limited for clearance, Chittagong Customs House Deputy Commissioner H M Kabir said in the statement.

“Based on intelligence input, the customs authorities halted the clearance process and conducted a detailed examination, which confirmed the presence of poppy seeds,” newspaper Dhaka Tribune quoted Kabir as saying.

Customs officials had seized the two containers carrying 24,960 kilograms of poppy seeds at Chittagong port, about 250 kilometres southeast of Dhaka.

The import documents declared 32,100 kilograms of bird food in the containers shipped from Pakistan, but a physical examination revealed 24,960 kilograms of poppy seeds and only 7,200 kilograms of bird food.

According to customs sources, the Audit, Investigation and Research (AIR) branch conducted the operation based on confidential information.

Laboratory tests conducted by Dhaka University’s Nanotechnology Centre, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet), and the Plant Quarantine Department confirmed the items to be poppy seeds, the newspaper said.

Under the Import Policy Order 2021–2024, poppy seeds are listed as a class “A” narcotic and are strictly prohibited from import. The consignment has been seized under the “Customs Act 2023” for importing banned goods under a false declaration.

The declared value of the consignment was Tk30 lakh, while the actual market value is estimated at around Tk6.5 crore, customs officials said. PTI NPK NPK NPK