Heroin Smuggling to UK: Nearly entire BD Foods racket identified, Claims Babar

Staff Correspondent

State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar claimed yesterday that the government has quite succeeded to identify the whole BD Foods racket involved in smuggling heroin to the UK.

While talking to journalists on government steps against the company after a home ministry meeting on law and order, Babar said, "We have now been able to identify the whole BD Foods racket."

Asked if the image of the country has been damaged by the company's involvement in heroin smuggling, he said incidents like this took place several times earlier but the government's achievements in this particular case will definitely restore the country's image.

Meanwhile on Saturday, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) filed another case with the Sutrapur Police Station accusing Abul Bashar, proprietor of Green Haven Enterprise, and Kazi Zafar Reza, owner of Rainbow Enterprise, of smuggling 54kg heroin to the UK.

Investigators said Bashar and Zafar are members of a strong international syndicate of drug-runners. They said the two close associates have been smuggling heroin worth crores of taka through exported consignments.

In the case, CID Assistant Superintendent of Police Dipak Chandra Gupta mentioned that Bashar and Zafar smuggled 54kg heroin to the UK in a consignment of TAZARO Floor Tiles.

He said the accused prepared fake documents in connivance with some officials of the Foreign Exchange Corporate Branch of Sonali Bank in Motijheel and the appraisers concerned of Chittagong customs. They also opened a clearing and forwarding agency named AR Haq Trade Corporation Ltd at Agrabad in Chittagong to carry out their activities, Gupta added.

Bashar and Zafar exported 330 cartons of TAZARO Floor Tiles to the UK, but the UK customs at the Southampton port found 54kg heroin in 108 cartons of the consignment.

The CID yesterday produced Bashar, arrested early Saturday in Jessore, before the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM), Dhaka with a prayer for a 10-day remand. The court granted a remand of seven days.

Zafar is also on remand in another heroin smuggling case filed recently with the Motijheel Police Station.

The law enforcers meantime arrested four others--a former BD Foods official and an associate of a detained BD Foods staff, among them--finding evidence of their involvement in the heroin smuggling.

The UK customs in May 2005 accused five Bangladeshi business firms of smuggling heroin to that country in the guise of food, toiletries, cosmetics and floor tiles.

An investigation by the National Board of Revenue last year confirmed the validity of the allegations and involvement of BD Foods Ltd, Emdad Traders, Jamil International, MM Enterprise, and Green Haven Enterprise in the dirty racket.

The five companies sent apparently legitimate consignments containing heroin to Ocean Line Foods and Bengal Bay and Coastal Spices in the UK several times.

A four-member team comprising members of the CID, Special Branch of Police, Rapid Action Battalion and Bangladesh Bank is investigating the smugglings at the directive of the home ministry.