A Dhaka court on Monday sent three people, including two Chinese nationals, to jail in a case filed with Uttara West Police Station over allegations of importing unauthorised mobile phones from China by evading customs duties.
The accused are Chinese nationals Zhang Haibin, 50, and Wang Gwofeng, 52, and their Bangladeshi interpreter Delowar Howlader, 25.Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Zakir Hossain passed the order, rejecting both remand and bail petitions.
According to the remand application, police detained the accused from a house under Uttara West Police Station on Sunday, acting on a tip-off, and questioned them.
Based on their information, police recovered 63 mobile phones of different brands, including iPhones, 70 pieces of RAM and Tk50,000 in cash from the house.
The accused failed to produce valid documents for the seized items. A case was filed with Uttara West Police Station under the Special Powers Act.
The remand application also said the accused admitted during initial interrogation that they had imported the mobile phones from China into Bangladesh by evading taxes and duties and sold them in different markets in Dhaka.
Preliminary interrogation suggests they are members of an organised smuggling syndicate. Police said if released on bail, the accused may flee the country, which could hamper the investigation.
