Dhaka: Han Son Ik, the first secretary of the North Korean embassy in Dhaka, has been ordered to leave the country after failing to declare the goods worth nearly half a million dollars to customs. Bangladesh has kicked out a North Korean diplomat after he was caught smuggling more than one million cigarettes as well as electronics into the country in a shipping container.
Shahidul Haque, Bangladesh’s top foreign bureaucrat, told “We have asked North Korea to take him back for violating diplomatic norms.” Haque confirmed the order had been made to the North Koreans, but declined to give a timetable for his departure. Local media said he had been ordered to leave by today.
Moinul Khan, head of intelligence at Bangladesh customs, told “The diplomat declared that his cargo contained food and soft drinks. But when we opened the cargo, we found 1.6 million stalks of expensive cigarettes and electronics. At market prices these products are valued at 35 million taka ($430,000). We suspect that he brought the products to sell to local smuggling gangs.”