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The National Board of Revenue (NBR) instructed on Thursday all its customs houses not to release any casino materials from ports.
"We have verbally asked all of the customs houses to halt release of casino products," NBR chairman Md Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the reporters on the day.
He said the NBR would also send letters to the Ministry of Commerce by next week requesting it to amend the import policy order to impose a ban on import of casino products.
The NBR chairman said the board was taking punitive action against the persons involved in casino business.
"So far we have frozen and searched bank accounts of some 20 persons. Also others numbering 10 to 12 persons are under scanners of the NBR," he added.
Customs officials say although the import policy order provides for no restriction or ban on import of casino materials, the customs law has a provision for checking import of illegal items.
They also say the customs officials also have the responsibility to check import of those items at the ports.
The customs officials said most of the casino materials might have been imported under false declaration.