Heroin Smuggling to UK: Firm tries hard to get off the hook

Shariful Islam

King and Company, a sister concern of BD Foods Ltd and accused with four other companies of smuggling 75.5kg of heroin to the UK, continues intense lobbying to clear its name.

In their latest effort, the company authorities have sent a letter to Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman, requesting him to intervene and have the smuggling charges against the company dropped, said a source at the finance ministry.

The letter signed by Managing Director of King and Company Badrul Haider Chowdhury and dated April 30 claims that the National Board of Revenue (NBR) investigation did not find its involvement in drug smuggling.

Copies of the letter were sent to Prime Minister's Office (PMO), secretaries of different ministries and intelligence agencies.

However, sources said the NBR has many reasons to suspect the company of drug running.

Mainuddin, manager of the company, while representing BD Foods before an NBR investigation team last year, had provided false information about the company's former staff Nazmul Haider Bhuiyan Bulbul. BD Foods sacked Nazmul only after a newspaper had reported about his role in the smuggling.

Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested Nazmul on April 20. During interrogation, he admitted his involvement in smuggling heroin to the UK.

Mainuddin told the NBR investigators last year that the company and anyone of the company had no contact with Nazmul after he was sacked in May last year.

But the investigators found that Nazmul had made numerous calls on the mobiles of Mainuddin and other officials and employees of King and Company after his sacking.

"Mainuddin could not give any satisfactory answer when investigators asked him why he gave false statement earlier," the NBR report said.

The NBR report also said Mainuddin did not cooperate with the investigators. He also did not disclose who owns the 'mysterious' mobile phone over which Mainuddin and Nazmul had talked several times.

Besides Nazmul, CID has arrested three others including a manager of BD Corporation, another sister concern of BD Foods.

Of them, Kazi Zafar Reza, owner of Rainbow Enterprise, was arrested at city's 252, New Elephant Road on April 27, and Abu Bakar Siddique Mithu, manager of BD Corporation, at Pahartoli in Chittagong on May 3.

Following up the information obtained from Abu Bakar, a CID team arrested his close aide Mokhlesur Rahman Nayon in Turag area.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, Dhaka yesterday placed Abu Bakar and Mokhlesur each on a five-day remand after the CID produced the two with a prayer for 10-day remand.

In the forwarding letter, the investigation officer said they are members of an international drug cartel. They smuggled out heroin worth crores of taka, opening fake companies.

A high-powered team comprising officials from the CID, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Special Branch and Bangladesh Bank has interrogated Mainuddin several times during the last few days, said a CID official on condition of anonymity.

They have been making significant headway in the probe, he added. But for the sake of investigation he declined to elaborate on the finds.

Meanwhile, Rowshan Ara, wife of Zafar Reza, claimed her husband to be innocent. She said the CID has detained her husband to shield the real culprits. " The truth will come out if they [CID] arrest and interrogate the BD Foods high-ups," she told The Daily Star.

When this correspondent went to her flat at 252, AL Baraka Tower yesterday, she talked to the reporter over the intercom. She said her husband had handed a freight forwarder a cheque for Tk 50,000. Asked whether the Rainbow Enterprise is housed in the building as mentioned by the CID, she said she does not know any company by that name.

Abul Bashar, owner of Green Heaven, had requested Zafar to pay the amount to the freight forwarder, Rowshan added. The investigators have already found Basher's company to be involved in the widely reported drug smuggling.

Zafar who would work in the UK on a multiple entry visa has been staying in Bangladesh since April last year.

Meanwhile, as part of the ongoing investigations, the central bank yesterday asked all commercial banks to send it within a week a dossier on transactions and other banking activities of the 12 business houses that include BD Foods Limited and its nine sister organisations.