CIID seized the vehicle in Chattogram after the owner’s family failed to produce purchase or import documents or hand over its keys.
The BMW seized by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) in Chattogram. Photo: Courtesy
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The BMW seized by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) in Chattogram. Photo: Courtesy
The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID) has seized a luxury BMW in Chattogram over allegations that it was imported in three to four large pieces and declared as used car parts to evade customs duties.
Acting on a tip-off, a CIID team from its Chattogram regional office seized the BMW from Sattar Manzil (BTI Building) on KB Abdus Sattar Road in Rahmatganj around 12:50pm today (27 August).
The vehicle, bearing registration number Chattogram Metro-G-11-3651, is suspected to have been imported through false declaration, duty evasion, smuggling or forged documents, CIID said in a press release issued by its Chattogram regional office.
The agency said it had received intelligence that complete luxury vehicles were being imported in three to four large sections and declared as used car parts to avoid customs duties.
No import documents produced
During the operation, CIID officials questioned Sultana Farhana Jahan, wife of the BMW’s current owner, Mohammad Ayub, who is abroad, and asked her to produce documents related to the vehicle’s purchase and import, according to the CIID press release.
She could not provide any such documents, it added.
CIID and Rapid Action Battalion officials also asked several times for the vehicle’s keys, but the owner’s family refused to hand them over, it mentioned.
As neither the documents nor the keys were produced, the CIID team seized the BMW from the parking area under the leadership of the additional director general of its Chattogram regional office.
CIID said its preliminary investigation found evidence supporting the possibility that the vehicle had been brought into Bangladesh through false declaration, customs duty evasion, smuggling or forged documents.
Probe underway
The agency is investigating how the BMW was imported and acquired, the release mentioned.
Officials are examining whether it was originally imported as used car parts and later assembled into a complete vehicle, and whether customs duties applicable to a complete luxury vehicle were evaded.
CIID said further details would emerge after the investigation is completed.
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