The Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate on Thursday conducted a drive and seized two electric gambling machines used in casino.

The customs intelligence team led by its assistant director Kausar Alam Patwari, on Thursday afternoon launched the drive on basis of secret news at a Chinese citizen owned restaurant Hobnob Coffee House and Chinese Restaurant at Gausul Azam Avenue in Uttara sector-13 and a residential hostel at Uttara Sector-14, Road- 15, House-56, and arrested Chinese citizen Kent and seized electronic gambling machines.

In investigations the Customs Intelligence found that importer Ninad Trade International imported seven of casino gambling set ‘mahajong’ from China in 20 cartoons in August last year.

In the search at Chinese citizen Kent’s office the intelligence also found that he sells imported products to various Chinese people and organisations. Secret news reports that the Chinese hostel owned by Mr Kent and at the Hobnob Coffee House were surrounded by several Chinese citizens who were known to have been involved in gambling.

The customs intelligence team recovered the ‘mahjong’ machine set from the residential hostel. The gambling through the mahjong at the Chinese owned residential hostel in Uttara was disrupting the residential and social environment of the area and there was the possibility of the continuous destruction of the mahjong gambling among the Bangladeshi nationals.

Attempts to identify the location of other casino mahjong machines in the associated merchandise continue.

The customs intelligence team is on track to retrieve the latest casino machines and bring them under the law. After reviewing the import information of the seized casino machine, it is found that the casino machines were cleared by false declaration.