Mysterious case of 250 high-risk, loaded containers going 'missing' from Ctg Port
'We cannot say all of them are missing, but we are not getting cooperation from the port. There is a strong possibility that many of them have disappeared,' says Audit, Intelligence and Risk Management Deputy Commissioner Tarek Mahmud.
Highlights:
- Customs cannot locate 250 high-risk import containers at Chattogram Port
- Containers remain untraceable despite repeated customs requests to port
- Missing containers have stalled customs investigations into suspected fraud
- Three loaded fabric containers disappeared from port within a year
- Digital cargo tracking systems showed major discrepancies during investigations
- Authorities suspect forged documents bypassed stringent cargo clearance procedures
At least 250 high-risk import containers flagged for suspected customs offences cannot be physically located at Chattogram Port despite the port having one of the country's most stringent cargo clearance systems.
Official correspondence reviewed by The Business Standard shows that Chattogram Custom House has repeatedly asked the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) over the past nine months to identify the physical locations of 250 containers locked in the ASYCUDA World risk management system because of suspected smuggling, misdeclaration or revenue evasion.
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The latest reminder, sent this April by the Audit, Intelligence and Risk Management (AIR) department of customs, followed at least three earlier letters requesting the same information. The CPA has yet to provide their locations.
The list comprises 83 containers from 2021, 61 from 2022, 40 from 2023 and 66 from 2024. Under customs procedures, these consignments cannot be released until investigators physically examine them.
However, customs officials say those inspections cannot proceed because the containers cannot be located.
"We have written to the port three or four times asking for the locations of these containers. Our last reminder was sent in April, but we still haven't received the information," AIR Deputy Commissioner Tarek Mahmud told TBS.
"We cannot say all of them are missing, but we are not getting cooperation from the port. There is a strong possibility that many of them have disappeared."
Without locating the containers, customs cannot verify the imported goods, complete investigations or initiate legal proceedings against importers suspected of customs fraud.
Separate theft cases deepen concerns
The inability to locate the locked containers has surfaced alongside investigations into the disappearance of at least three loaded fabric containers from the port within a year.
One of the cases involves businessman Selim Reza, owner of Shah Amanat Trading, who purchased a 27-tonne container of imported indigo fabric through an electronic customs auction. He paid Tk85 lakh for the cargo and, after VAT, advance income tax and other charges, his total payment reached Tk1.06 crore.
Having inspected the container before bidding, he arrived at the port on 26 February 2025 to take delivery, only to discover it had disappeared.
Four months later, the CPA formally acknowledged that it could not trace the container anywhere inside the port. In a letter dated 2 July 2025, the authority said a joint investigation committee had failed to trace the container and that it therefore could not be delivered to the successful bidder.
Meanwhile, the CPA has filed two separate criminal cases over the disappearance of two other loaded containers.
Bandar Police recovered one empty container from Halishahar after investigators alleged it had been removed from the port using forged seals, fabricated signatures and fraudulent gate clearance documents. The imported fabric, valued at about Tk2 crore, was missing.
Police have arrested four people, including two port employees, while another suspect remains absconding.
Another container carrying imported fabric worth about Tk2.5 crore also disappeared earlier this year and remains untraced.
Digital records questioned
The investigation has also exposed inconsistencies in the port's cargo management systems.
Investigators found that even after one container had disappeared, the CPA's Oracle-based cargo management system continued to show it as being stored inside the CCT yard. However, investigators found no physical trace of the container in the yard, while no corresponding record could be found in the port's Terminal Operating System.
The discrepancy has prompted customs officials to question the CPA's repeated claims of operating a paperless and digital port.
"As the yards have expanded across different locations, monitoring cargo movement has become much more challenging," Tarek Mahmud said.
"There are loopholes somewhere. Otherwise, containers should not simply disappear."
He also questioned the effectiveness of the port's digitalisation.
"The port says it is becoming paperless and digital. But if containers are disappearing, what exactly has been digitised?" he said.
He added that tracking is even weaker inside warehouses handling less-than-container-load cargo, where importers have occasionally collected goods belonging to others.
Stringent clearance process bypassed
The disappearances have raised questions about how containers could leave one of the country's most heavily secured ports despite an extensive approval process.
According to customs agents, releasing a full container load normally requires around 24 separate signatures and approvals from multiple offices, including the CPA's One Stop Service, terminal authorities, yard officials, delivery staff and customs gate personnel.
Investigators believe forged signatures, fabricated seals and manipulated gate documents were used to circumvent these controls, exposing vulnerabilities in a system that still relies heavily on manual verification despite years of digitalisation efforts.
Legal liability
Under Sections 8 and 130 of the Customs Act 2023, the CPA is the legal custodian of imported cargo stored inside the port and is responsible for its safekeeping until lawful delivery.
Invoking those provisions, customs has demanded that the CPA reimburse Tk1.06 crore to Shah Amanat Trading, representing the auction price, VAT and advance income tax already collected by the government for the missing container.
The bidder has sought a refund after the authority acknowledged that the container could not be delivered.
Questions unanswered
Despite repeated requests from customs, the CPA has not explained why it has been unable to identify the locations of the 250 locked containers or how multiple loaded containers disappeared from one of Bangladesh's most secure port facilities.
Repeated attempts by TBS to obtain comments from CPA Acting Secretary Nasir Uddin were unsuccessful. The newspaper also sent detailed questions to CPA Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman via WhatsApp. Although the message was viewed, no response was received.
For Selim Reza, the unanswered questions remain straightforward.
"I paid everything the government asked for," he said. "Now everyone agrees the container is missing, but no one can tell me where it went."
