Customs, cops claim credit
Media: The Independent
Chittagong police and Customs authorities are engaged in a tug-of-war over claiming credit for the seizure of a large haul of cocaine hidden in drums of crude edible oil imported from Bolivia.
Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) claimed that Customs Intelligence (CI) and Investigation Directorate authorities were not allowing them to take samples from the seized drums for testing.
On their part, the Customs authorities maintained that there was no need for further tests because the Bangladesh Drug Testing Laboratory and the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) had already detected cocaine in the drums on June 27.
Sources close to the developments said the CI authorities feel that handing over the suspected drums to CMP’s Detective Branch will enable the police to claim credit for busting the racket. The CI, however, is averse to sharing the credit, they added.
On the other hand, the CMP authorities claimed that they had already initiated an investigation into the matter after receiving a mail from Interpol on March 13 and arrested two persons in this connection in the first week of June.
Following primary information from the accused, CMP, along with personnel from the Chittagong Port Authority and Customs Intelligence and the Investigation Directorate, had sealed off a container with 107 drums of edible oil on June 6.
This fight over claiming credit between the two law enforcement agencies has also reached the court.
Investigating officer (IO) Kamaruzzaman, also assistant commissioner of the DB of CMP, could not show the seizure list in court on Sunday. He told the court that police needed to seize the drums and examine the samples in order to make a seizure list.
Consequently, the court ordered Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) and Customs authorities to help the IO in this regard.
The IO, however, alleged that he could not seize the drums on Monday due to non-cooperation by Customs officials. He also went to the court with his allegation, seeking further instruction. The court kept the application for hearing for yesterday.
Also on Monday, Hossain Ahmed, additional director general of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate, appealed to the court to stay its previous order. However, the court vacated his application. In this regard, Kazi Muttaki Inbu Minan, additional deputy police commissioner (prosecution), told The Independent that the court had ordered the police to collect the samples of cocaine and send them for laboratory testing. “The court also ordered police to prepare the seizure list,” he added.
“Hossain Ahmed applied to the court to stay the previous order. In his application, he mentioned that cocaine was detected during a sample test in Dhaka. The sample and drums are in the port under their custody. The Customs Intelligence is carrying out the investigations. If the samples are handed over to other organisations, the investigation of the case may be hampered,” said Minan.
The court, however, vacated the plea and directed the DB, Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), Narcotics Control Department and Customs Intelligence and Directorate to work jointly in this regard.
Fakhruddin Chowdhury, metropolitan public prosecutor, told The Independent, “The court has ordered the collection of samples in the presence of first class officers from the four agencies.
The court has also ordered representatives from the four organizations to jointly sign the seizure list. The four organisations were also directed to bring the seized goods in the court jointly if needed.”
