A Sylhet-based trader has submitted a written application seeking the return of 6,300 kilograms of cumin seized in Habiganj, saying the goods were legally imported from India through a letter of credit. Mohammad Afzalur Rahman filed the application with the Shaistaganj customs warehouse officer on Thursday afternoon. He said his firm, Afsana Store Crusher, imported 300 sacks through Tamabil land port on July 16 and paid the required duty, VAT and taxes on July 19. He said 210 sacks were loaded onto a covered van on July 22 for delivery to a buyer in Dhaka when Border Guard Bangladesh detained the vehicle and goods.

Rahman alleged that BGB did not accept photocopies of the documents shown by the driver and took the cumin into custody. The goods were later sent to the Shaistaganj customs warehouse under case GR-160/26. BGB said the cumin was seized at a checkpoint near Teliapara rail crossing, about three kilometres inside the border, and that customs officials had said the trader's documents were forged. The customs warehouse officer said the application has been forwarded to divisional customs officials for review and a decision.