Chattogram, May 20, 2024 – In a significant crackdown, the Detective Branch of Chattogram Metropolitan Police have apprehended five individuals involved in producing counterfeit cigarette stamps worth approximately Tk5 crore. The arrests were made in the Chandgaon area of the city on Wednesday night.
The operation, conducted around 8:30 PM, targeted a tin-shed house owned by Abdur Sabur, located to the north of Pakkar Dokan in Chandgaon. The police raided the site following a tip-off, discovering a setup involving four printing machines used to produce the fake tax stamps.
Among those arrested are Md. Yasin (24), Md. Rifat Uddin (25), Md. Nasir (38), Md. Hasan Tarek (26), and Md. Arif Hossain (28). However, the primary suspect, Md. Arif (30), managed to evade capture and is currently on the run.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Detective Branch Chattogram Metropolitan Police (DB North), Sheikh Sabbir Hossain, confirmed the arrests and seizure.
He detailed that the counterfeit operation involved the illegal printing of tax-paid revenue stamps used on cigarette packs. When the suspects were unable to produce any legitimate documentation for their activities, the police confiscated 8 lakh and 80 fake stamps, estimated to be worth around Tk5 crore, and four printing machines valued at Tk4 crore.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrested individuals were part of a larger scheme orchestrated by the absconding Arif. They were producing and distributing the fake stamps to various cigarette companies, aiming for illegal profits.
The two types of counterfeit stamps seized were for 10 and 20-piece cigarette packets. They bore the inscription “Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Duty Paid, National Board of Revenue, 10 and 20 cigarettes.”
“The printing machines were set up in a tin-shed house, producing counterfeit cigarette stamps. We seized 8,00,080 stamps, estimated to be worth around Tk5 crore. We arrested five individuals involved in the operation. They are being sent to court, and we will apply for remand to uncover further details about the network and other associates involved,” stated ADC Sheikh Sabbir Hossain.
The police are intensifying their efforts to capture the main culprit, Md. Arif, and dismantle the entire counterfeit operation. Further investigations and interrogations are expected to reveal more about the extent of the illicit activities and those connected to this elaborate scam.
