Ctg container depot owners worried over Friday's siege by extortionists

Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association expressed concerns over the recent siege to a container depot in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong by some local extortionists.

They had besieged BM Container Depot in Kesolpur on Friday for seven hours demanding extortion money, said a press release signed by Nurul Kaium Khan, president of the association of the privately-owned container depots in and outside the city.

The extortionists prevented vehicles from going in and out of the depot. It is a part of a conspiracy to cripple the country's import export trade as the inland container depots handle around 100 percent export and 30 percent import goods, the release said. Such illegal and aggressive activities had also been carried out at some other depots before, claimed the association. BICDA members urged the government and other business organisations to come forward to prevent recurrence of such incidents. Ruhul Amin Shikdar, general secretary of the association, said they came to know that local Jubo League activists were involved in the incident. SM Al-Mamun, district (north) president of Jubo League, could not be reached despite repeated calls for comments, as he did not pick up the phone.