Badruddoza Chowdhury Momen, the chairman of major Bangladeshi company BD Foods Ltd, sits in prison after being arrested last month on charges of smuggling heroin into the United Kingdom. He has so far been denied bail.

According to The Observer, it is alleged that in the past 15 years he has smuggled around 948 kilograms of heroin - sourced from Pakistan - through various ghost companies attached to BD Foods Ltd. The company itself, which exports spices, pickles & chutney and snacks to the UK, has not been implicated.

Trouble began for Momen last year after UK customs officials found £10m worth of heroin in three unclaimed consignments of products originating in Bangladesh. The UK High Commission in Dhaka requested the Bangladesh government to look into the matter. The National Board of Revenue formed a five-member committee in response. Several companies with links to BD Foods were implicated in the subsequent investigation. His arrest on the 14th of May followed testimony by a former colleague and his cargo handler accomplice that they smuggled 22.5 kilograms of heroin into the UK at his behest.

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