Staff Reporter :Customs intelligence officials on Wednesday seized 1000 counterfeit Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards found in five abandoned cartons at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in city. Director General of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CID) Moinul Khan said the ATM cards were brought from Hong Kong by a flight of Thai Airways. “These seized fake ATM cards have been brought in five cartoons by DHL express courier service without any valid documents and papers,” he told journalists at the airport. Moinul Khan said the customs intelligence officials are carrying out investigation to know the owners of the cards. “The cartons were seen abandoned on the premises of cargo village of the airport,” he said, adding that none was arrested in this connection. In the recent development, the arrested four persons, including a foreigner Piotr Mazurek and three employees of a local bank Moksed Ali Maksud, Rezaul Karim Shahin and Refat Ahmed Rony disclosed that at least 50 individuals and business firms were involved with the recent ATM card scam.Maksud, Shahin and Rony are the employees of the City Bank’s IT division. Piotr, who belongs to a gang of international fraudsters, along with the locals had installed devices and video cameras at six booths of the UCB, Eastern Bank Limited (EBL) and City Bank to steal client information.Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday said, foreigners staying in Bangladesh are now under the scanner in light of the exposure of a German citizen being involved with the recent ATM scam.”After the involvement of a German national was found in ATM scam, we are keeping a close eye on them” he told journalists.There are many foreign citizens involved in many activities in our country in non-government organisations, garments, businesses and others. The minister also said efforts are underway to make sure that strict cross-checking is done at all immigration counters to prevent the entry of foreigners with any forged passport or false visa.Citing a recent survey conducted by his ministry, he said over 2.6 lakh foreigners are working in Bangladesh in various sectors, such as RMG, NGOs and other consultancy services, both in and out of Dhaka city. With the ongoing monitoring, the minister said, notices will be issued to those whose visas are reaching the expiry dates and about deportation of those staying in Bangladesh country despite the expiry of their visas.Asked about Piotr’s involvement in the card scandal, the minister said that at first he showed a Polish passport, which was then found to be forged and later a German smart card was recovered from him.On his arrival to Bangladesh, he had declared business as his reason for visiting, but as part of a bigger global fraud syndicate, he married a local woman and wanted to stay in the country and committed more crimes through fraudulence.Most of Piotr’s accomplices have been arrested and those are still on the run will be hunted down soon, Kamal added.
