Serious security concerns have emerged at Chattogram port after a series of import-laden containers disappeared. Experts say the incidents raise questions about port security and pose threats to the economy and national security because authorities do not know what the containers held or who imported them.
Suspicions extend beyond revenue evasion to possible large-scale money laundering or conspiracy. Soon after reports that 250 containers locked against delivery in the customs Asycuda system had disappeared, another container carrying fabric worth Tk 3 crore was reported missing.
Media reports in early July said 250 containers barred from delivery by the customs AIR branch had disappeared over the four years from 2021 to 2024. Customs repeatedly wrote to the port seeking containers that records showed were inside, but received no response. After reports were published, the port wrote back claiming the containers were in different yards and published the same letter as an advertisement. Customs has yet to locate the containers beyond the written claim.
Chattogram Custom House spokesperson and Assistant Commissioner Sharif Mohammad Al Amin said the port sent a letter saying the containers were stored in different yards, but did not identify them among thousands of containers. Customs therefore has only the letter and is checking the claim. He said it was too early to say either that the containers were lost or that all had been found.
A fraud ring used forged documents to remove a 40-foot container carrying fabric worth Tk 3 crore for export-oriented production. Two employees of a clearing and forwarding agent were arrested, but the container has not been recovered.
The latest missing container was numbered MRSU-8692827. Dhaka-based Gold Star Garments Ltd imported fabric for women’s clothing ordered by a French buyer. It arrived aboard the MV MCC Danang, was unloaded at berth two of the NCT terminal and stored in the CCT yard. After paying Tk 45 lakh in customs assessment, demurrage and other charges, the importer’s C&F agent, SRS Synd, went to collect it on August 30.
Port officials delayed delivery for three days. The importer filed a written complaint on September 2 and was later told the N4 system showed the container had been delivered on-dock and on-chassis on August 11.
A six-member investigation committee was formed, and the port later filed a police case. The case named jetty workers Morshed Alam and Saidur Rahman of C&F agent Paramount Trade International, along with three or four unidentified people.
Such incidents are not new. In 2025, two containers carrying fabric worth about Tk 1.5 crore disappeared within six months. In one case, an auction buyer paid Tk 85 lakh for 27 tonnes of fabric and another Tk 22 lakh in duty, VAT and port fees, only to find the container missing. Another buyer paid Tk 42 lakh at auction but could not receive the goods. The port also filed separate cases this year over two more missing loaded containers. Its records show five containers disappeared from port yards in one year.
Chattogram Metropolitan Police Port Zone Deputy Commissioner Amirul Islam said the port is a key point installation. Police do not have unrestricted access inside, and the port initially investigates incidents before referring them to police. The delay makes investigations harder, though police continue to work on the cases.
Islam said police had repeatedly coordinated with the port and identified several security gaps. Even with those weaknesses, he said, moving a large container through all required steps would be impossible without insider involvement. Police are treating everyone as a potential suspect while working to identify those responsible.
The disappearances have raised serious questions about security at Bangladesh’s largest trade gateway. The port previously intercepted the 10-truck arms shipment and the country’s largest cocaine consignment, and regularly seizes other arms, drugs and falsely declared high-duty goods.
Abul Khair Group chief executive and security analyst retired Brigadier General Shahid Ullah Chowdhury called Chattogram port the heart of Bangladesh’s economy and said any breach there endangered the country. Importer addresses behind seized shipments are almost always false, he said. Internationally, authorities intercept at most 20% of illegal shipments, meaning more than 80% pass through.
Chowdhury said most missing containers had import general manifests, showing they arrived, but no one filed bills of entry to clear them. That suggested the importers were using other methods to remove the containers, creating a national security threat because the government did not know what they contained. He called for a complete overhaul of port security.
Former Chattogram port member for planning and administration Zafar Alam said containers could not leave without the involvement of port and customs officials. Claims that signatures were forged were not credible, he said, adding that QR codes could be used on every document. Arresting only workers diverted investigations instead of addressing the root of the problem.
Port spokesperson and Secretary Syed Refayet Hamim said the port had sent customs a letter locating the 250 containers. Customs had not formally told the port that it still could not find them, so port authorities continued to believe they remained inside. Work was also under way to locate the five containers missing over the past year.
A high-level committee is working with all sides to prevent a recurrence. It is expected to submit a report soon, after which the port will implement its recommendations.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report