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Sadeeq Agro Owner Arrested for Selling Domestic Cattle as Foreign Breeds
Md. Imran Hossain, the owner of Sadeeq Agro, was arrested in Dhaka’s Malibagh area today and later sent to jail in connection with a case involving the laundering of over Tk 133 crore. According to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Hossain has been involved in defrauding buyers by selling domestic cows and goats as foreign breeds at inflated prices.
"Imran has illegally amassed approximately Tk 121.32 million by fraudulently advertising domestic cows and goats as foreign or pedigree animals, and selling them at significantly higher prices in the sacrificial animal market," said Ekramul Habib, Additional DIG of CID’s Organized Crime Department, during a press briefing at the CID headquarters.
The investigation revealed that Hossain led a well-organized criminal network that smuggled cattle into Bangladesh, including cows and buffaloes from Thailand and Myanmar through the Teknaf and Ukhia borders of Cox’s Bazar, and Bhutti cows from Bhutan and Nepal. These animals were then sold under false pretenses as premium foreign breeds.
Hossain also illegally diverted 15 Brahma cows that had been seized by the Customs House. These cows, initially intended to be slaughtered and sold for meat at a fair price, were fraudulently reclassified by Hossain as slaughtered in papers for meat sale. He and his associates earned an estimated Tk 11.36 million through this illegal transaction, which was later funneled into fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) under his company’s name, Jalalabad Metal Limited, to launder the funds.
Additionally, Hossain conducted illegal business activities by filling and occupying a government canal in the Ramchandrapur area of Mohammadpur, Dhaka. He processed a significant volume of financial transactions through various bank accounts, amounting to Tk 121.32 million.
On March 3, a case was filed against Hossain, his managing director Touhidul Alam Zenith, and several unidentified accomplices at Mohammadpur Police Station under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2012, for laundering over Tk 133 crore.
The CID’s investigation found that Hossain's illicit earnings were primarily sourced through cattle smuggling, fraud, and forgery, in collaboration with an organized crime syndicate. Following his arrest, Hossain was presented before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate MA Azharul Islam, who sent him to jail.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities continue to uncover the full extent of Hossain’s criminal activities.