DHAKA, May 23: Bangladesh authorities have banned use of mobile phones in the nation's main customs house to stop traders offering bribes to government officials, an official said on Wednesday.

Traders have been told not to bring phones to the customs house in the southeastern port city of Chittagong to curb “unlawful activities,” said Chittagong customs commissioner Farid Uddin.

“The move was taken to remove the possibility of bribing the (government) officials during the assessment of imported items,” he said.

Everyday some 10,000 to 12,000 traders and their agents visit the customs house. Many use mobile phones to seek to bribe government officials to speed up the entry of goods, Farid said. The traders pay bribes to reduce duties on imported goods, according to media reports.

The move came just a week after the Bangladesh chapter of graft watchdog Transparency International said traders paid 9.43 billion taka ($137 million) in bribes to Chittagong port and customs officials in 2006.

The group said officials took bribes from traders at more than 30 places at the Chittagong port and in the customs house.—AFP